


The End Of Corona

by Swiftwars21



Category: Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon)
Genre: A few major and minor character deaths, Action/Adventure, Again I am REALLY sorry, Also lesbian Cass:), Andrew can die in a hole, Angst, Anxiety, Depression, Destruction, Do not reccomend for really young audiences, Explosions, F/F, F/M, Four years after third season finale, Hurt!Varian, Hurt!everyone, I'm sooooooooo sorry ahead of time, Kingdom takeover, Panic Attacks, Rated teen and up for violence and dark themes, Rebellion, Survival, War, pretty dark
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:22:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 8
Words: 26,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27182401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Swiftwars21/pseuds/Swiftwars21
Summary: Cassandra finally returns to Corona after four years, only to find that it's not what it used to be.GOING ON HIATUS SOON
Relationships: Cassandra & Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider (Disney), Cassandra & Rapunzel (Disney: Tangled), Cassandra & Varian (Disney: Tangled), Cassandra/Rose (OC), Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider & Varian, Eugene Fitzherbert | Flynn Rider/Rapunzel, Rapunzel & Varian (Disney)
Comments: 28
Kudos: 69





	1. An Unexpected Sight

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, peeps!  
> So this is technically my first FanFic. My last one was terrible, so I scrapped it.
> 
> WARNINGS:
> 
> Okay, so first off, you'll probably hate me because I killed off some pretty big and small characters.......sorry...  
> To be fair, they are important to the plot. I am sorry for killing off certain characters that I honestly didn't WANT to, but I felt like I needed to. Again, sorry. 
> 
> Next, this is rated more for teens and up (not for sexual stuff, cause that's just not my thing). If you didn't see the tags, it's because of the violence (I don't know how bad it'll get yet, but just in case), and also for the hella dark stuff. It does include things like depression, anxiety, and such things as that, so just a warning for that. 
> 
> Also, I don't exactly know if I'll make it a series, it just depends on if people actually like my pretty-bad writing, and time. 
> 
> Lastly........well.......Idk honestly. Just in case you didn't really pick up on it, Corona gets taken over and basically obliterated by the Saporians. Again, I'm sorry. 
> 
> Okay, so I hope you enjoy this, and thank you for reading my beginner type writing.

There was silence. There was soft wind. There was cold. There was nothing but the feel of a cold breeze blowing through the air, and the sound of hooves gently trodding along an empty dirt road. Even the breeze that pushed against the thick trees and underbrush surrounding made practically no sound, creating an eerie atmosphere. Everywhere was completely empty of people, except for the caped figure on their aging horse. 

Even the villages they passed were all but lively; abandoned to rot away. It was a strange sight, especially since they looked like they'd just been refurbished and reconstructed----fresh paint on cracking walls, hard and fresh pavement along the edges of the road, and refurbished streets. This showed they hadn't been abandoned for very long. 

The caped figure stopped in the center of one of these villages, searching around for any sign of life. Like other nearby towns, there was nothing. The figure reached up to the hood of their cape, and pulled it off their head to get a better look. It revealed a young woman, nearing the end of her twenties. She had long, black hair, tied into a long braid over her shoulder. Her face was a thin pale, making her silky grey eyes pop, matching the similar-colored highlights in her hair. She wore a thin mask of makeup, though it was hardly noticeable over the cuts and scars on her face.

Cassandra sighed, hopping off her horse, Fidella. She ran a hand through her maple stallion's mane, before leading her by her reigns through the small town. She wasn't completely surprised by this dilapidating sight, considering many of the nearby towns were almost identical. She hadn't seen towns look like this since the black rock siege in Corona four years ago. The reminder sent shivers down her spine, and bad memories to her mind. She shook them off, continuing cautiously through the streets. 

"This is the fifth town we've come across that's been abandoned." Cassandra said to Fidella, offering her an apple. The horse excepted it gratefully, eating in less than a few bites. "It doesn't make sense..." the young woman muttered, leaving Fidella's side. She slowly walked over to a small cottage, kneeling next to a pile of rubble. She pushed some of it aside, revealing a broken piece of mirror. She stared at her reflection in the glass, still----even after four years----not used to her new look, even though it wasn't much different from her old one. Her gloved hand brushed over it, eyes meeting her own. Her eyes then caught a purple sparkle suddenly bounce off the reflective surface from her neck. Instinctively, she brought her hand up to carefully rub the gem between her fingers. She glanced down at it, a small grin playing on her face at the memory of the young alchemist giving it to her. _"I call it, Cassandrium."_

It was so long ago......yet, it almost felt like yesterday.

Suddenly, she dropped her grip. A horrible idea popped into her head.

All of these villages had one thing in common: They were all the closest to the walls of her old home. If they were abandoned......what if......

She shook her head, not daring to finish the thought. But it made too much sense not to forget it. 

Since a year ago, Rapunzel and her friends had stopped writing to her. At first, she assumed they'd been really busy, considering around that time Rapunzel became queen. So she waited. And waited. And waited. And finally, after almost a month without any letters, she knew something was wrong. Fearing the worst, she left the new home she'd settled in, and started for Corona. As she got closer, doubts kept filling her head. _They're probably fine, Rapunzel's probably just really busy, maybe Owl lost the letter, everyone's okay._ Those words continues to lure inside her head, but she persisted on a gut feeling. 

Now that she was almost there, more and more abandoned villages and homes appeared, and there was no way it was a coincidence. 

The young woman jumped to her feet, running over to Fidella. She jumped back onto her steed, double checking for everything, before commanding her to continue through town quickly. Once the old horse was at the edge of the town, she upgraded her speed to a low gallop. They were about two days away from Corona, but if they didn't make any stops, they'd make it to Old Corona by sunset. 

Soon enough, Fidella was at a full speed sprint, leaping over fallen trees and puddles from last night's storm. Cassandra kept a tight grip on the reigns, and knees pressed against her horse's sides. "Please be wrong..." she whispered to herself, though still doubtful. 

  


It turned out she was right about making it to the wall by nightfall, the sun starting to disappear behind to far off hills. Fidella slowed to a stop in front of a large, brick wall. It was a familiar one, that about six years ago had been demolished by black rocks. Now that it was built back up, it looked quite different. The purple paint was fading and cracking, which was strange, because workers usually repaint it every month. From the looks of it, the wall hadn't been repainted in over six. Her suspicions started to elevate. 

"Think you still have it in you?" she asked her greying friend. Fidella turned to examine to wall before them, calculating it's height. Cassandra admired this. For a horse, she was highly intelligent and skilled. It reminded her of Max, the second in command horse of the royal guard in Corona. Of course, she still preferred her own stallion. 

After a few short minutes, Fidella finally looked back to her owner, nodding. Cassandra gave her an encouraging grin, allowing her to turn around and run back. She didn't run back too far, but enough to gain speed and agility. The horse turned back to face the wall, now fifty yards away. The horse neighed, scratching her hoof against the ground. She backed up a little further, before looking up to Cassandra for confirmation. Cassandra nodded. 

"It's been a long time since you've done something like this, but you can do it...." she reassured, not knowing if it was to the horse, or herself. "I hope." she muttered. Fidella took that as her cue to run. She started galloping towards the wall, Cassandra snapping the reigns to make her go faster. The partition separating them from Corona drew nearer, and suddenly all doubts of Fidella making it were replaced with determination. The woman tightened her grip on the reigns, narrowing her eyes. Once they were less than a few yards away, the old stallion launched herself off the ground, flying up in the air like a bird. Cassandra suppressed a yell, not realizing her eyes slammed shut until she felt the horse stop. 

She opened her eyes to see Fidella had miraculously landed on the top of the brick barrier. Cassandra laughed nervously, patting Fidella's neck. "Way to go, girl. I knew you could do it." she praised. But the smile on her face faded, as she saw her friend staring uncomfortably at the other side of the wall, a slight whimper of worry. Cassandra followed her gaze to Old Corona..........or what was left of it. She let out a horrified gasp at what she saw in front of them.

Old Corona was destroyed. It was in incomplete shreds and shambles, buildings burned to the ground, and streets covered in debris varying from wood, bricks, rotten food, and abandoned objects. You couldn't even tell there was any road! But those weren't the only things Cassandra was horrified at. No, it was actually the least concerning thing. Bodies. It was the bodies scattered all over the place. Corpses and skeletons every here and there, small to large. 

Cassandra felt herself shaking uncontrollably. It was completely obliterated....how? Why? Who did it? She felt numb thinking about what the capital looked like. Did this happen because she left? Was it her fault all of these innocent people were killed? It had to be. 

He gaze shifted over to a large manor near the wall. Her heart almost stopped. Just like everything else, it was in shambles. Not as bad, but it still was. From the looks of it, it had burned just like the other buildings. The walls were still standing, but awkwardly, and the roof was caved in. The glass windows were shattered, leaving glass all over the stone steps leading to the broken door frame. A tear trickled down her cheek. She guided Fidella off the wall, immediately jumping off her back once they were on the ground. Her feet slammed against the ground, launching her over the the wrecked manor. 

_Please be alive. Please be okay. Don't you dare be dead. Please, please, please!_

Her mind was screaming at her, begging that she wouldn't find two bodies inside. 

She carefully made it up the steps, ducking inside without hesitation. All she cared about was the hope of not finding what she feared. But if she did, she would most likely break down then and there. When she ducked inside, she found she had to keep her head low to avoid the collapsed ceiling. She maneuvered her way over to a wooden door, that was barely in tact. Her breath (if she had any at this point) became hitched. She didn't know what she expected to see. Maybe Varian's dead courpse......NO! Cassandra mentally slapped herself for the thought. Varian would be fine. The young teenager (who now wasn't actually a teenager) would be fine. The young alchemist that made an entirely new element, and named it after her would be fine. The boy she drugged, hurt, and caged would be JUST FINE! He would.................

Cassandra slowly pushed open the door, and jumped when it broke off it's last remaining hinge. Her eyes widened at the sight before her.

Varian's lab looked as bad as she expected. Tables and shelves were turned to ash, covering the floor in black sand. Glass viles were broken, leaving chemicals in the spots not covered in black. The roof was caved in like the main house, giving Cass a board to stand on to avoid the ash and glass. Her eyebrows raised in surprise at the somehow stable closet standing at the end of the room, but she ignored it, continuing to search for what she hoped wouldn't be here.

She moved away piles of wood and rubble, finding nothing but burnt books and more broken viles. So far she was lucky, but there was still the rest of the house to check. The woman finally made it to one end of the room, that was thickly covered in ash. It seemed like this part of the floor had somehow caved into the ground. Then she remembered that there were tunnels underneath the house. Hope ignited inside her. Maybe Varian had gotten out alive. Maybe he and his father had escaped through the tunnels during whatever happened. Maybe they were safe. 

Unfortunately, this ignition fell short, when she felt her foot kick something underneath a large slab of wood. Curious, she started moving away the pieces. Her gloved hands were most likely blistering from all the lifting and moving, but that didn't matter now, as she was able to move the last piece of wood to uncover what she had kicked. Her heart stopped. Her lungs stopped. Her whole body stopped. Everything inside of her stopped, at the sight of a body. At the sight of a horribly familiar body.

  


  


It was Quirin. 


	2. To Ashes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now with the horrific knowledge of what became of Quirin, Cassandra has to run from old enemies. This leads her to find out what happened to her old home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so I forgot to put that there will be some minor language. There will only be "hell", "ass", and "damn," as well as just REALLY minor words like jerk, stupid, idiot, etc. Not all of them will be in the chapter per say, but just a warning for the future:)
> 
> Also, this chapter was going to be longer, but I decided to cut it short because of the ending.
> 
> Also, I actually planned to release this on Tuesday, but since it was much shorter than I was going to make it, it's a surprise publish, yay! So anyways, yeah. I hope you enjoy this, I really wanted to cry while thinking of it in my head, because it's just so damn depressing.

Cassandra froze. The look of absolute horror was stuck on her face, limbs left unmoving. Her lungs stopped functioning, along with her mind and heart. Every part of her wanted to just collapse then and there---to be swallowed up by the earth into a fantasy world, one where Quirin was standing straight, healthy and well. But that wouldn't take away this initial pain. This..............shock. The shock of seeing an old, strong warrior, with a calm demeanor and kind grin, lying pale and lifeless on the floor. 

Eventually, after what felt like an eternity, her legs finally gave way beneath her. She sank to her knees, next to Quirin's pale form. It was now she noticed, that he had a shadowy look on his face; almost ghost like. It was a transparent expression of pain and regret. She could guess it was from physical pain, but not just that. The regret was what hurt Cassandra the most. A most likely cause, was the regret that he felt he didn't do more for his son in his earlier days. He had been passive of his kid, who day upon say, would try and earn his recognition. It took getting trapped in crystal for a year to realize his mistakes. So whatever happened...that was the last thing he thought of. It had to be. 

Cassandra held back a cry, knowing that wouldn't solve any of this. But if he, one of the strongest, most protective men, was easily taken by fire---which was easy to see, because of the many scorch and burn marks on his skin, and the gag-causing, half melted skin on his legs---there was an uneasily small chance of his prodigy surviving. Seeing as Varian was nowhere to be seen, there was still a chance. 

The young woman breathed shakily, moving her hand to the older man's pale face. She brushed some of his hair away from his face, seeing some of it burnt off from the now dead flames. Sighing, she unsteadily picked herself up. 

As she did, a sad thought crossed her mind. On the off chance that Varian was still alive, he probably knew of his only parent's fate. And if he did, knowing the unlucky boy, he was probably mentally unstable. Judging by the former warrior's condition, he'd been dead for a few months; seven at most, and three at the least. This meant that Varian would be without him for around that amount of time, which could've done a hell of a number on him. Cassandra hated to think what he would be like after so much time.

Once she was on her feet, legs shaking, she brushed the ash and dust off her clothes. She stood straight, eyes sticking to the dead corpse at her feet. She wringed her gloved hands together, swallowing hard. "I"m sorry." she whispered. She knew he wouldn't hear her, he was obviously dead. But she knew she needed to do this, especially after all she's done. Taking another shaky breath, she continued.

"I know how much I've hurt you, even if not physically. I know that by taking and hurting Varian, it caused you to become angry towards me, which I don't blame. In fact, I would understand, if you were still....well....you know..." she gestured to him, biting painfully at her lip to keep from crying. "...if you'd never forgive me. In fact, I'd hope you wouldn't forgive me. I mean...I deserve it." she bit down harder, feeling her skin becoming weak. "And after all I did to the kingdom, and the people you care about...I know I do. I also know, that this...that you being....like this....is my fault, because I left." Suddenly, her bite weakened, and she couldn't hold back the tears any longer. A few tears trickled slowly down her cheeks, clear as crystal, but full of heartbreak. Her hands came up to wipe them from her cheeks.

"I just hope you can hear me when I say.....t-that I'm..." she choked on a sob, trying her hardest to keep it down. The tears kept flowing out, and she started wiping her face every few seconds. "I'm so...so sorry for everything that I've done, and I hope that you rest peacefully, knowing I won't give up on your son." she moved one of her hands down to her necklace, squeezing it tight. "I promise." she whispered, the choice of words almost making her break down. But she didn't give into the pain, knowing it would make her weaker. She had to stay strong, and believe Varian was alive. He had to be.....right?

Taking one last look at Quirin, she turned to walk back to the lab door. She had to believe Varian was alive, because he was stronger than he looked. He'd endured so much already. So much pain, hurt, heartbreak. Somehow, he'd survived it all. He could survive this.

As she neared the now fallen door, a sudden rattle stopped her in her tracks. Her eyes fell on the wardrobe at the other end of the room. It shook again, this time harder. Cassandra narrowed her eyes, her hand reaching down to her sheathed sword. Slowly, she started sneaking over to it, ready for a fight if necessary. 

The wardrobe started shaking more rapidly, making even the unstable ground shake. Cassandra pulled the hilt out a few inches. 

Suddenly, the doors of the wardrobe slammed open, two figures falling onto the ground. Cassandra raised a brow at the two. 

The person on the left was older; he had a long, grey beard, and wore a strangely tall hat atop his head. He also wore a matching colored jacket. The other person next to him was a girl, twenty-five at the youngest. She was darker skinned, with long dark hair that was pulled up in a thick pony tail. Her outfit was very faded, the dark red top almost drained of color, as well as the fire orange skirt. By the looks of it, the two had been in the closet for a while. 

Cassandra automatically pulled out her sword when the young woman pulled her own out. The two jumped to their feet, the older man holding two unsettling familiar pink spheres in each hand. The woman's sword was pointed Cass's way, the grey-eyes woman returning to gesture towards her. 

To her surprise, the girl smirked. "Oh, this is just rich." she chuckled. Cassandra was slightly impressed by her position, seeming like she knew how to wield it, and probably wasn't someone to underestimate. Cassandra narrowed her eyes at her. "Who are you?"

The girl's smirk grew wider. "You haven't met us yet, have you?"

The older man threw one of the balls in the air, catching it. He repeated this action, eyes practically stabbing at Cassandra's soul. 

The girl's smirk turned into a determined frown. "Well, this should be fun. Just wait until Andrew sees you." 

Cassandra's eyes widened at the name. Andrew. Well, really it was Hubert, but either way he was easily recognizable. The man who tried to steal the journal of Herz Der Sonne about seven years ago, and was her first and ONLY undercover assignment. She was able to stop him, only because of Rapunzel and Eugene, to her disliking. As much as she loved her best friend, she was always annoyed over her spotlight blocking hers. Sure, thanks to that she made some bad, bad, bad, bad, bad decisions, but that doesn't mean it didn't still annoy her. 

Andrew also ended up taking over the kingdom for a while with Varian, as she was told by the kid himself before she left. He almost blew up the kingdom with one of Varian's own creations, but Varian realized his mistakes, and helped defeat him. That's when Cass got an ugly idea. 

If Andrew was somehow apart of this......he was probably pretty pissed off at the young alchemist. That could mean he HAD Varian. If he did, who knows what he was doing to him. Cass shook it off; there wasn't time to think about it right now. The big thing was, Old Corona's destruction had something to do with the saporian leader, and his group of terrorists.

The girl suddenly jumped at Cass, taking her by surprise. Before the girl could slam the blade on her, she instinctively blocked it with her own blade. The girl let out a battle cry, before the two women engaged in sword on sword combat. 

They slashed at each other, kicked, stabbed, and punched with their free hands. At one point, Cass took a cut to the cheek, over one of her fresh scars. She cried out in surprise, throwing her hand to it. She felt a warm liquid leak into her palm, covering it in a red blanket of blood. The girl looked pridefully at her, silently bragging. This just made Cassandra angrier. She cried out her own battle cry, surprising her opponent as she attacked her. 

She managed to slash her upper arm, distracting her long enough to swing her leg at her feet, knocking her onto her back. The girl moaned, clutching her red stained sleeve. The old man took initiative at this, throwing a pink ball at Cass. She used her sword as a baseball bat, hitting the ball back to him. He yelled in surprise, as the ball slammed into his chest. It released a large cloud of smoke, giving Cassandra enough time to escape out the door. "Ugh! Damn it!" Cassandra heard the girl shout. 

She dodged pieces of roof and rubble, using her sword to slash through anything in her way. Once she was at the door (or what used to be the door), she ran back outside. Fidella was lying on he ground where she'd left her. When the horse heard her, she looked up. Immediately, Fidella jumped to her hooves as Cassandra approached. The woman jumped onto Fidella's back, quickly sheathing her sword, and grabbing the reigns. "We have to get out of here!" she yelled, snapping the reigns. "YA!" she called, getting her stallion to start running. 

The horse galloped away from the house, heading down the debris covered road. Cassandra heard the two Saporians exit the house, the young woman yelling at the old man. Cassandra didn't pay them any mind, hoping they didn't have rides of their own. "Hurry! We have to get to Corona!" she commanded her steed. But the horse stopped, neighing at her to get her attention.

Cassandra saw the road didn't get much better. In fact, it was much worse. 

More rubble, debris, and bones---oh, all those bones---littered every inch of the dirt road, making it impossible to travel through. She heard the sound of galloping behind her. Crap, they did have their own rides.

Cassandra spotted a small path going in between the trees next to her. She pulled on the reigns, pointing to it. In response, Fidella quickly turned to face it. The sound of galloping grew louder. They were getting closer. Fidella noticed it too, not pausing to quickly dart into the trees. Cassandra gripped harder onto the reigns, determination filling her veins. 

The path turned, leading them around the desolated village. If they were lucky, they'd reach the capital in less than two hours. The only problem was, however, that night was falling. The trees were becoming dark, and it'd be really hard to follow the path in darkness. They at least had to get far enough away from the others to find a safe place to rest. Then they'd be able to continue at daybreak........................................that is if they survived the night.

Cassandra and Fidella went on for about half an hour, before night finally settled on the forest. They found a hidden cave not far from the path, and decided to rest there until morning. Cassandra knew making a fire was too risky, especially if the two Saporians were still trying to tail her. So she reframed from making one, using her cape as a blanket to try and avoid the chilly night air. Fidella lied next to her, trying to help her stay warm. This would be a rough night.

  


  


The next morning, Cass woke up first. The broad daylight seeped into the cavern, giving out a silky warm air. Cassandra yawned, stretching out her arms. This awoke Fidella, who groaned to consciousness. Cass didn't remember falling asleep last night. All she remembered was lying awake, thinking of her friends. Was Varian alive? If so, did Andrew have him? Was Rapunzel okay? Was Eugene? 

All of those questions plagued her mind, and were the last thing she remembered thinking of. The braided woman sight, getting to her feet. They needed to get to Corona, which hopefully was in better state than it's outer town. Cassandra shivered at the though of what Corona would look like if it were like Old Corona. 

Getting rid of the thought, she threw her cape back on. Fidella stood up, and allowed Cassandra to lead her out of the cave, where they both ate quickly. There wasn't any time to waste; who knows what was going on. After their quick meal, Cassandra hopped on her stallion, and they continued quietly down the path surrounding Old Corona---the only sounds being Fidella's hooves against the ground. Cassandra kept double checking the strapped bag on Fidella's side, knowing full well it wasn't going anywhere. But she couldn't get the images of Old Corona and Quirin out of her head. It'd been her fault, right? If she had stayed and served some kind of time, none of this would be happening. Whatever was going on was because of her, and she wanted to uncover this horrific mystery. 

Cassandra sighed, resisting the urge to lie her head down on Fidella's mane. She had to keep well and alert, in case the two full-of-themselves, jackasses showed up again. Who knows what kind of trouble she could encounter here, now that the kingdom's become.....different. As long as the capital was standing, and Rapunzel was still alive, there might be a chance of saving everyone from Andrew. 

The thought of him again made Cass scowl. That selfish, long-haired demon had no place here. He deserved to rot in the solitary confinement hall in the prison. But nope, instead, the former king and queen showed too much mercy on him, stuffing him in a basic cell. The worst part about it, was that Varian was thrown in there with him five or so years ago. That lame excuse for a king promised Rapunzel he'd help him, but instead, left the kid to rot. Sure, back then he'd done some pretty bad things (not as bad as hers, in her personal opinion, but still some pretty bad stuff), but he was a fourteen year old kid who was left alone for months, chased down by royal guards, and without his father. What was Fredrick thinking?!

At this point, it didn't matter. What mattered, was saving the kingdom from whatever Andrew had in store for it. 

After almost an hour and a half, they finally reached the end of the path. It lead to a larger road, where only a few minutes away was Corona. Cassandra felt her heart thump quickly in her chest at the thought of being home again. _Home._ Was she even allowed to call it that now? 

Fidella reached the bridge, and Cassandra avoided glancing up at the island across. She didn't know what she'd do once she looked at it. Four years ago, she'd attacked it. She'd covered it in black rocks, and allowed an ancient demon to take control of it. Buildings and Corona property were destroyed because of her, hell, everyone basically died because of her. Even _she_ died, because of herself. Sometimes while she was on her adventures, she'd wish she had stayed dead because of what she did to hurt it. To hurt innocent people, and even her closest friends and family. Her eyes didn't deserve to look at Corona. But yet, she forced herself to look anyway when Fidella stopped moving. 

Time stopped.

Her body stopped.

The world stopped.

Everything stopped.

Cassandra felt herself immediately freeze, worse than yesterday. Everything around her now, completely disappeared. No trees, no path, no Fidella, and not even the ocean stayed in view. The only thing she could see, was the wicked.........the cruel..........the scary...........the horrific............the heart stopping sight in front of her. 

The stone bridge that had been destroyed in the center wasn't what caught her attention. Oh, no, no it wasn't. 

It was the island. It was her old home. It was what _used_ to be Corona.

The once green landscape of grass and earth, was now black ash. What used to be the gorgeous view of houses, cottages, shops, and the town, now nothing but dilapidated buildings half destroyed and burned down. The once clear, ocean blue skies, were now filled with the darkness of smoke. And the once beautiful, luxurious, incredible palace.................was now gone. Gone to nothing but old chunks of brick and stone. Everything...absolutely EVERYTHING.......................was destroyed.

Everything around Cassandra came back again. The trees returned, the ocean, Fidella, and the path. But none of that mattered anymore. _Nothing_ mattered anymore. Cassandra only had one single thing in her mind then, and it wasn't any of that. It wasn't Quirin, it wasn't Old Corona, it wasn't Varian, and it wasn't Andrew. 

No. There was only one thing on her mind.

  


  


  


Corona was gone.

  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter, we're gonna see some old friends that I personally, love to hate:)
> 
> Again, let me know of any mistakes and tips! Thanks!


	3. Your home will always be here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassandra goes back to when she left, and feels like it's her fault.
> 
> But she's not giving up that easily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I'm really sorry I haven't posted in awhile!  
> I guess I chose the wrong time to write this, and I've been going through some crap.
> 
> But anyways, this chapter is way shorter than I intended it to be, since I wanted to get something out as quick as possible so you'd know I'm alive and not abandoning this. I'll try to post within a two week period, depending on.......stuff. Yeah, again I'm sorry!
> 
> This isn't my favorite chapter, because the writing isn't as good as I was trying to make it. But I hope you enjoy it anyways!

_Cassandra sighed, staring at what used to be her home from across the bridge. She had to remember, this wasn't her home anymore. She lost that privileged right when she touched the moonstone. It was hard to think: Only two weeks ago she was in possession of that blue opal, attacking Corona and Rapunzel. Of course, she ended up getting overthrown by a crazy demon. She deserved it, after all she'd done to hurt so many. That's one of the top reasons she was leaving; she had to leave to keep everyone safe. Besides, it's not like she'd just be welcomed back with open arms, anyway. People already started rioting over her being allowed to be free. She couldn't blame them._

_Sure, Rapunzel forgave her, as well as Eugene (somewhat, he was still wary about her), Lance, and the two little girls. But that wasn't enough for her. She had to leave, for the kingdom's sake, for her friends' sakes, and even for her own. She had to find her own destiny somewhere else. She had to follow her own path, and see where it lead her._

_At least she wasn't doing it all alone. Her father put an arm on her shoulder, and squeezed it comfortingly. She'd go with him, at least for a little while. She knew this was his home, and if it wasn't hers, she couldn't force him to go with her. But he'd insisted, so she allowed it. Besides, she couldn't just have a horse and bird for company._

_After a few minutes, three figures slowly emerged across the bridge. One of them was running towards her as fast as a hunting lion, and she knew who it was, even before she was ultimately attacked by a big bear hug. She 'oofed' at the impact, chuckling. After a few seconds, Rapunzel released her, giving the short-haired woman a bright smile. Eugene and Max appeared a few moments later, the man also wearing a smile, though it was smaller, but was still warm and genuine._

_"Are you sure you want to go?" her brunette friend asked for over the hundredth time this week. Cassandra nodded in response. "I have to, Raps. But I promise to write to you everyday, okay?" she assured. Rapunzel sighed, nodding. "If you're sure."_

_"I am. this isn't my home anymore. I have a destiny beyond here, and I have to find it." Cassandra patted her shoulder._

_She hopped on her loyal horse, Fidella, her father sitting behind her. The couple appeared besides them, atop Max. Rapunzel gave her a competitive smirk. "I'll race you to the wall." she laughed, before Max started sprinting down the road. Cassandra rolled her eyes, but grinned. "Hold on, dad!" she yelled, snapping Fidella's reigns. The former captain held onto her waist, and their ride started following after the others._

_Fidella's agility helped her catch up with the others in mere moments, the two groups both determined to win over the other. They all laughed, Rapunzel throwing her arms out, tilting her head back to catch the glow of the sun shining in her hair. No doubt the princess missed this. Cassandra then realized she did too. The many races the two girls had had while on their trip was definitely not normal, and the points each woman scored was insane. They haven't had a race like this since the day Cassandra made the mistake of betraying her. Betraying the happy, bright, kind girl next to her. After everything she'd been through, after everything Cassandra had done to her, Rapunzel managed to keep an incredibly large smile on her face. She really was special._

_Cassandra had been so distracted by this, that she didn't even realize the opposing team had gotten ahead. Far ahead. Her eyes widened when she realized this, and she quickly put her focus back on beating them. She tightened her grip on the reigns, urging Fidella to go faster. The horse complied, and randomly started taking leaps. She laughed as she caught up with the others, dad clutching her for dear life._

_She chuckled at this, hearing Eugene start yelling at Max to go faster._

_Suddenly, a fallen tree had appeared out of nowhere ahead, blocking the path. Cass wouldn't let this stop her. "You ready, Del?" she called to her horse over the loud gallops. The horse became more determined, picking up her speed._

_Dad's eyes widened. "Um, Cassandra? Are you sure-" he was cut off, Fidella, merging into a jump, flying above the large trunk. Her father yelled in surprise, clutching Cassandra tighter. The horse stuck the landing, and they kept going, Cass not bothering to look over and see if the others were still behind._

_"Didn't you do this all the time as Captain, dad?" she laughed._

_"That was a while ago, Cassandra. I haven't done this for some time." he explained._

_Cass shrugged. "Well, you'll have to get used to it again. We'll be doing this every day for a few weeks."_

_Fidella turned on the path, jumping over a few rocks and another few trees. There were also, she noticed, a lot of empty holes in the ground that Fidella had to swiftly dodge and avoid. Some were small, while others were fairly large. She recognized their smooth, circular shapes. After the moonstone and the sundrop merged, and Rapunzel sent it back into space, every black rock disappeared. That even included her black rock tower, which she was relieved of, since a lot of horrible memories lied there. Now, with all of the rocks gone, only holes remained as evidence that they used to fill them. That would take a lot of healing._

_Finally, after a while, they made it into Old Corona. The village swarmed with people, so Cassandra quickly avoided them. As she passed through, she could see some villagers giving her dirty looks and scowls. She deserved them, she knew she did. But now wasn't the time to think of that---she had a race to win._

_They got to the edge of the clustered buildings, and the wall came into view. They were ahead. There was no doubt now that team Cass would-_

_The woman cried out in surprise as a white blur jumped from the trees. She pulled on Fidella's reigns to slow her down and avoid a collision. The blur turned, heading speedily for the wall. "Haha, got ya!" she heard a familiar voice shout. She gasped when she realized it was Rapunzel, Eugene and Max. And they made it to the wall before them. Their team won._

_Cassandra and her father slowly trodded up to stand next to them, hopping off. Rapunzel and Eugene were dancing in victory, making the short-haired woman roll her eyes. "How did you guys get ahead?" she yelled as she approached. "I could've sworn we were ahead, and winning!"_

_The two chuckled, and Eugene pointed to the trees, where a blur of a path could be seen in the trees. She gaped, before crossing her arms and looking back at them. "That's not fair, you guys cheated." she claimed. Eugene rolled his eyes, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Oh, dear Cass. It's not cheating if it's part of the road." he sassed. Cassandra huffed. "But it's not part of the road!"_

_Eugene shrugged mockingly. "Oh, I beg a differ-"_

_"Guys!" Rapunzel interrupted, standing between them before they could continue with their banter. They quieted._

_The princess smiled at them, then looked at the wall that somehow hadn't been fixed yet. Her smile morphed into a sad frown, as she stared out at the world beyond the barrier._

_Cassandra put a comforting hand on Rapunzel's shoulder. The princess looked at her sadly, before pulling her into a tight embrace. Cassandra returned it, rubbing her back before pulling away. She returned the sad look, knowing how hard this would be for both of them. But they both also knew this had to be. Cassandra couldn't wait in the wings anymore. She had to find her true destiny, even if it meant leaving the only people she'd ever bonded with. But they were also the people she had hurt. They were the people she betrayed, conspired against, blamed and hated for a whole year. They never deserved anything she had done, let alone Rapunzel. This was Cassandra's doing, for reasons good and bad._

_"Don't worry, Raps. I promise I'll come back eventually." she reassured. Suddenly, she heard a familiar voice from the road behind them._

_"You better keep this promise." Varian said. He grinned, but only slightly. Cassandra's frown deepened into one of guilt. After the fight, Varian was one of the ones who felt the most hurt. She couldn't blame him, since she did kidnap him, steal from him, drug him, hurt him, locked him in a cage hundreds of feet in the air, and even broke his ribs. But she knew that's not what Varian was upset at. In fact, he admitted that he could care less about those things, even if they did hurt a little. Before he even told her, she'd known. It'd been the mindtrap. She controlled the brotherhood, including his father, with the mythical rock. She forced Varian to fight his own father, and do things he would never be proud of. She would always feel horrible for it. For everything she did to him._

_That's why she understood that he couldn't forgive her. She knew that she brought his unforgiving upon herself._

_Rapunzel's happy mood returned, and she joyfully greeted the teen with a smile. "Hey, Varian!"_

_Varian waved at her, coming to a spot in front of Cass. The two looked down awkwardly, clearing their throats. After a few awkward moments, Varian sighed. He offered the woman a hand, surprising Cass. She looked up at him, meeting his eyes. So much pain resided behind them. So much hurt and heartbreak. But there was also a lot of wisdom and experience, too much in her opinion, for a sixteen year old to have._

_Varian surprised her again, by giving her a wider grin. A warm grin. An actual, genuine, grin. She felt amazed by this, but elected to ignore it for now. She gave him her hand, and they shook them. Then, once again, he surprised her. This time with a hug. He pulled her into a tight hug, catching her off guard._

_At first she did nothing, confused by this action. This was the last thing she expected from him._

_After a moment, she excepted the embrace, putting her hands around him._

_They stayed that way for a little while, until Rapunzel interrupted the moment. "Aw! I have to remember to paint this later!" she squealed._

_The two instantly fell away from the hug, Varian blushing as red as a swollen tomato, and Cass rolling her eyes, a little annoyed. Not that she was enjoying the hug a lot, but it felt nice to be able to have at least a little of his trust again. Maybe it would take a long time to earn it back fully, maybe she wouldn't earn the rest at all. But she was glad he wasn't trying to shoot her with an amber bazooka again._

_"Oh, that reminds me!" Rapunzel gasped. She rummaged through her bag, searching for something while muttering incoherent words under her breath. After about two minutes, she finally yelled: "Aha!" and pulled out a rolled up scroll. Cassandra lifted up an eyebrow._

_Seeing her suspicion, Rapunzel skipped over to her friend, throwing it into her hands. Hesitantly, Cass unrolled it, not knowing exactly what she'd expect. Maybe this was all a joke, and it was her transfer slip to the dungeons. Maybe everyone really did hate her after all, and she'd be sent to solitary confinement to live out the rest of her days. Or maybe even worse......................she'd be sent to a convent (though I don't even see how that's any worse), only this time, she wouldn't be saved. At this point, the possibilities were endless as to what lied on this single page. When she unrolled it, she was not expecting to find.............a painting?_

_Of course it was a painting. Why had she questioned this in the first place? Was she really that paranoid and afraid?_

_The painted page held a gorgeous scope. There sat the kingdom, perched on it's luxurious island. In front of it was the stone bridge that connected the island to the mainland, though that's not what it was depicting. The perspective was from the center of the bridge, where five figures stood, holding hands. Rapunzel, Eugene, Cass, Lance, and Varian. It looked surprisingly realistic, and far more detailed than any of Rapunzel's other works. This was something she'd keep forever, and she knew it._

_Apparently_ _her shock was showing, as Rapunzel put both hands on her shoulders. "I worked really hard on it. I just want you to remember that your home will always be here, even if you can't believe it." she waited for Cassandra's reaction afterward, hoping she didn't say the wrong thing. Cassandra couldn't help but smile, pulling her best friend into another embrace. "Thank you." she whispered into her ear._

_Suddenly, she felt more hands surround her and the brunette. Eugene joined in, along with her father and Varian. And now she knew Rapunzel was right. This would always be her home, even if she wasn't there. Her family would always be here if she needed them, or they needed her. She couldn't have asked for a better one._

_"Guys..." Varian groaned through the smashed bodies. "I can't breath."_

_Everyone laughed, leaving the group hug. She said one last goodbye to everyone, and settled onto her horse in front of her father. She smiled at the group below her. Rapunzel was crying, Eugene comforting her with an arm wrapped around her shoulder. Even Varian was shedding some tears, which was something else she didn't expect from the young alchemist._

_"I love you guys."_

_"We love you too." they all said in unison._

_And with that, she pulled on the reigns, and Fidella ran past the walls, away from Corona, and away from her family. She couldn't help but start to cry herself, wiping the tears to focus on the road. 'I'll always have a home in Corona.' she thought to herself. 'I'll always have a family there for me.'_

_She sighed, and rode straight into the sunset, without a second though._

(------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------)

_I just want you to remember that your home will always be here._

The words echoed through her head, giving it a horrible ache. But Cass didn't care for the headache. No, she cared for the words. She cared for the long lost memory of her family and friends. She cared for the fact that _her home_ \---the home she'd known for _years_ , and where she was raised her whole childhood---was destroyed. 

Her eyes glanced from the wrinkled up paining in her hands, to the city that was everything but the same to it. She'd been standing like this for almost a whole hour, still in complete shock at the horrid sight, her brain unable to fully process what she was seeing ahead of her. It was _way, way_ worse than Old Corona. To put it clearly, Old Corona seemed like _heaven,_ compared to the capital. 

More buildings were burnt to ashes, causing shadows of smoke to cloud the once clear skies. The large palace, as seen on the painting, was left as left over pieces of stone and brick, showing more of the grey sky. But that wasn't even the worst part.

As Cass' eyes trailed across the bridge---which had a large gap in the center, creating a jungle of cracks in the stone pathway---her eyes scanned over the bodies, which were countless in contrast to Old Corona's number. It made the young woman's legs quiver at the sight of a decomposing woman holding a tinier body close to her, leaning against the railing of the bridge, lifeless and pale. 

_**What the HELL happened?** _

Fidella seemed to be feeling just a shocked, asking the exact same question. The horse hadn't moved a muscle this whole hour, eyes trained on what she also used to call home. Where she'd met Cassandra, and grew up with her. Where they spent countless nights sitting on the bridge, staring out at the surrounding body of water, and wondering what it would be like to travel the world. Now that they'd done just that, neither of them felt any more achieved. In fact, though neither of them realized the other felt the same, they both felt like _leaving_ caused this. 

Cass finally couldn't stand any longer, and collapsed to the dirt ground. The crumpled painting slowly fell from her hands, rocking slightly in the air, before landing silently. 

She just _couldn't_ believe it! This couldn't be real! Right? This is where she grew up, trained, fought, destroyed......Okay, maybe just leave that part out. But this is where her life had started, and now it's where it was ending. She was going to die, knowing that Corona was dead, all because of her selfish hopes and dreams. All because she tried leaving the wings she was destined to wait in forever. 

No. No. No. No. No! NO!

There HAD to be a way to save it. If Cass knew Corona well enough, and she did, they wouldn't die like this. _Rapunzel_ wouldn't just give up on her kingdom like this, even if she'd died. But after all that queen had gone through, there was no way she had. And that feeling made the tear-stained Cassandra stand up, clutching the painting once again, and staring at it determinedly.

"Rapunzel's alive. I know it." she murmured, stuffing the parchment into her bag. She turned to her saddened stallion, who's head hung low. She knew who she must be thinking about. The braided woman ran a comforting, gloved hand through Fidella's mane, making her look up. 

Cass smiled warmly. "And I know Max is too." 

The other stallion's name got her attention, as she looked up straighter. Cass breathed shakily, knowing what she was about to do wasn't very smart, and definitely not her thing. 

"But I'm gonna need you to stay here, okay? I'll be there and back shortly." she promised. At this, Fidella frowned again. "I know, I know, you always come with me on missions. But this is something I have to investigate on my own. I'll come back for you, okay?" she reassured. Though Fidella still had doubts, she nodded, sitting on the ground. 

"If those Saporians come back, kick em' for me, will ya?" she smirked. Fidella leaned against her owner in a 'take care' way. Cassandra couldn't find herself able to chuckle, seeing as she was going to be walking past a bunch of dead Coronans, but she gave her one more reassuring smile and pet. 

Then she turned back towards the bridge, clenching her fists. 

"I'm coming for you, Andrew."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Idk why, but I like writing flashbacks. Just know there will be quite a few in the future for plot purposes! 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	4. Lose Your Soul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassandra goes to investigate the destruction of Corona, and confronts an old enemy.
> 
> She meets a new friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this came out quicker than I was expecting...........that's what happens when you procrastinate from schoolwork!
> 
> This chapter is.....something.   
> Just a warning, someone gets decapitated in this chapter. It's not explicit, but it happens.   
> The swearing is also a little amped up, but not to the point of F bombs. 
> 
> Um....yeah....that's it....
> 
> Enjoy!

Cassandra found it wasn't very hard to jump over the gap in the bridge, with her agility she did it easily. But she knew it _needed_ that skill, because if she had landed wrong, she would've sprained her ankle, or worse. 

Not looking back to where she left Fidella, she continued across the rest of the stone viaduct, purposely avoiding looking at the spread of corpses she passed. The young woman also made sure to lift the hood of her cloak over her head, feeling lucky for the dark material blending in with the ash-covered city. 

She stopped at the edge, right where the stone merged with the once lively island. She took a shaky breath, still pushing back a sob that threatened in her throat. It's been _four_ _years._ Four years since she'd crossed these boarders. And the last time she did......she was leaving, which she now knew was a _big_ mistake. Now she had to find out what Andrew and his goons did to her kingdom, and that was enough to snap her out of her guilt trance.

Closing her eyes, she crossed. Ignoring the wave of even more guilt that came with it, she opened her eyes to get a good look of Corona. The first thing her eyes caught, oddly, was the burnt to a crisp blacksmithery. Oh, the horrid irony. The only thing left standing of the place was the crumbled brick walls, and the fire place. Turning her gaze away, she silently walked along the cobblestone roads, full of ash and debris. Oh, yeah, it was **_definitely_** worse than Old Corona; triple the amount of bodies, quadruple the amount of debris, and dirtier air.

She shivered, the memories of children kicking a ball through the streets, and lanterns filling the skies filling her head. What was she ever think stealing the moonstone? Oh, yeah, she was pissed off that her witch mother kidnapped a child instead of giving her attention. And now, that ended up being the fall of Corona. Damn.

To her surprise, she found that no Saporians were to be seen. Of course, last Cass heard, Andrew only had four in his little gang, so that made things a lot easier.

The braided woman took her time, taking note of every little detail. From the fresher bodies, to the small scorch marks on each of them; she kept it in her mind. As she got closer to the center of the kingdom, her breath hitched upon seeing the fountain was gone. The public fountain had held so many precious memories, and now it was gone. It was as if it'd never even been there at all. She pushed back a tear, continuing her investigation.

It was clear that there had been explosions, before being completely ambushed. Cassandra considered the horrid possibility that Varian's water tanks had failed, or even been tampered with, but shook the thought away. When his first tanks had gone off, they left large craters in his village. There weren't any as far as Cass could tell. But she did note the green liquid that she'd notice splotched around in some areas.

She winced at the sign of Monty's and Attila's shop cracked in half, the building a match to all the other ones. She couldn't help but slowly make her way over to it, swallowing hard as she ducked under the door-less door frame. She wasn't surprised at the sight; caved in, rotting candy and treats. But what she _was_ surprised by, was the old man's lifeless body buried under a pile of rubble, but still viewable. Her heart cracked at that moment, but she knew she couldn't take time to mourn, because she'd be risking being caught by Andrew. 

"When I catch that filthy, son of a-" she was cut off by a scream. She whirled around, before realizing the scream came from further away. Anger put aside, she stealthily ran outside, carefully following the sound of more screams. They were feminine, and not very high. There was the slight hint of pain and agony within them, making Cassandra wince. 

When she found that the screams were coming from where the castle used to stand, she hesitated. Was she ready to see her old home? Especially after the rest of the city, and Old Corona? They were bad enough, but the palace? 

She flinched at the continuing screams, and put her worries aside. Being as cautious as she could, she snuck through the blown down gates, not wanting to know who's bodies lied under the rubble. The only parts of the castle that survived during whatever happened, were the cracked front steps and some of the wrecked walls. All of the towers had collapsed, one of which being the one that held Rapunzel's room. Ironic, both towers she'd ever lived in had been destroyed, along with a mix of good and bad memories. Could the brunette catch a break?

Cassandra made her way to the collapsed front doors, and walked inside the building. The roof had completely collapsed, keeping the litter-filled air surrounding the woman's body. It was a horrible sight....the once colorful hallways. The portraits once crowding the walls were now turned to dust, and the expensive royal vases were nothing but scattered pieces of glass. She noticed a lot more of the strange, green liquid spotting every corner and clear space, making her raise a suspicious brow. It was obvious by now that this strange chemical had something to do with Corona's downfall, and she wanted to know _how._

It only took half a minute to get to what used to be the throne room; the origin of the horrific screaming. One of the doors was still magnificently on it's hinges, while the other had collapsed inwards. As she carefully approached it, the screams stopped, and she suddenly heard voices. She stopped outside the still-hinged door, trying to listen in on the conversation. Unfortunately, the voices were too far inside the room for her to hear, so she slowly peaked her head inside. 

The sight before her was enough to make her force down throw up. Ceiling gone, floor blanketed in rubble, and the queen's throne gone. In it's place was the king's large, golden chair, which was grimy. Then her attention landed on what was happening in front of the throne. She recognized the ugly man-bunned figure standing with his back facing her, as well as two other Saporians standing in front of him. One was a large man, while the other was an older woman, who was as short and stubby as a bear cub. Neither of them noticed her, focused on something happening in front of them. That's when Cassandra noticed the large man holding back someone's arms. Her eyes widened. They were _torturing_ someone. 

_'Please don't be Rapunzel...please don't be Rapunzel."_ her mind repeated, as she found a hiding spot behind a fallen beam. 

She managed to get close enough to finally be able to hear what they were saying; more like _he._

She quietly peaked over the beam, still unable to see who they were hurting.

She saw Andrew unsheathe his sword from his belt, sheathing his bloodied dagger. "I was really hoping you'd cooperate with us." the man sighed in frustration. He played around with the sword; spinning it in his hand, and scratching the floor with it's blade, making an ear piercing screech. 

"But I guess we can't always get what we want..." he moved away, revealing the woman that had been screaming. It wasn't Rapunzel. But Cassandra still knew _exactly_ who it was, even though they'd only ever encountered each other three times---at least that's what her memory told her. She held back a gasp of surprise, eyes widening instead.

"Isn't that right, _Caine._ " Andrew sneered. 

The red-haired woman grit her teeth at the man, visibly shaking in the large man's grip. Lady Caine, the woman who'd ruined Rapunzel's coronation, hired a black stallion to break out of prison, and attacked them on the corrupted person barge, lied weakly on her knees, blood coming from all sorts of places on her body. She looked _nothing_ like she had all those years ago. 

Cassandra's thoughts were interupted by Andrew continuing. "I'll give you one more chance to tell me where they're hiding, or else I'll just have to dispose of you." he raised the sharp blade, pointing it at Caine's neck. 

Lady Caine just narrowed her eyes at him, not giving the sword a second look. "You k-killed my family....I will _never_ h-help you." she ended in a near whisper, struggling to get the words out. 

Andrew sighed again, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You would've made a very good asset to us. But it doesn't matter, we have another one watching the rebellion as we speak." he smirked as Caine's shocked expression. He took the tip of the sword away from the woman's neck, holding it over his shoulder like a baseball bat.

Lady Caine's determined expression returned as soon as it had left, bitterness in her voice as she spoke. "They will beat you. And when they do, you'll finally realize how-" she didn't get to finish, Andrew swinging the sword down. Cassandra instinctively shut her eyes, wincing at the sound of sword cutting through flesh, before a small thump sounded, followed by a slightly bigger one. The swords-woman couldn't bring herself to open her eyelids again, knowing what she'd see if she did. The thought made her sick.

Eyes still closed, she heard Andrew sheath his sword. "Clean this mess up." he ordered. Cass heard the sound of scraping, then the sound of a bucket, and then the sound of footsteps walking away. She finally made herself open her eyes, biting her lip at the sight of dark red blood puddling the once-elegant carpet. Andrew was wiping his rotten hands on a rag that seemingly came out of nowhere, his muddy brown eyes staring lightning at the red liquid. Cass wanted nothing more than to wipe that disgusting smirk off his face right now, and give him a taste of his own medicine with her blade.

A few minutes later, the bear cub woman and the giant came back from the hall, stopping in front of their leader. "What do we do now?" the old woman asked, crossing her arms as Andrew paced back and forth. The Saporian didn't answer at first, taking to rubbing his beard in deep thought. After doing this for a minute, he stopped, turning back to his allies. "We wait." he said curtly. 

The two looked unconvinced, wanting more information on whatever his next move would be. 

Noticing them, he rolled his eyes and scoffed. "Once that bird gets back with the others' reply, we'll carry out our plan to destroy the rebels once and for all." he elaborated. Cass arched an eyebrow. What plan? Who were the others? And were there really survivors of this massacre? Did that mean Rapunzel was okay?

"And what about the queen?" the giant said skeptically. Andrew chuckled. "Don't worry, she'll get what she deserves."

Welp, there was her answer. Cassandra felt a mix of relief, fear, and worry. Rapunzel was alive, but who else was? The Saporians had obviously been the cause of this disaster, and were planning on hurting her. If that happened....Cass wouldn't forgive herself. It wasn't like she could anyways; it was her fault this happened, and that was enough of a burden to carry.

"And the alchemist?"

Andrew scowled, clenching his fists. Cassandra felt more relief wash over her. That meant _Varian_ was okay. It also meant the Saporians didn't have him, which was even better. 

"We won't break one of the most sacred laws of our culture. That traitor will pay...even more so than he has." he sneered.

Cassandra fought the urge to jump out and kill him right then and there. They killed Quirin, and no doubt Varian already knew that. That must've caused him so much pain...Cass hated to think about it.

Suddenly, she heard the sound of footsteps running from outside. The others heard it too, and pulled out weapons. Cass held her breath, as the footsteps came around the door, revealing---oh hell---the _other_ two Saporians. 

When the other three realized who they were, they put away their weapons, Andrew narrowing his eyes at the young woman and old man. He walked forward, crossing his arms. "Why aren't you two guarding Old Corona?" 

The two took a few moments to catch their breaths, the dark-skinned girl holding up a finger. Cass smiled at the blood staining her sleeve, pride filling her veins. When she managed to steady herself, she smirked. "You won't _believe_ who we saw."

Andrew lifted a brow. "And who would that be, Junie?" he asked. She scowled at the nickname, and for a moment, Cass thought she saw a look of hatred in her eyes. But it disappeared as soon as it appeared, replaced by the smirk. "Your old flame." 

Cassandra griped her knuckles, biting her lip in anger. That guy was _not_ her ex. She never actually dated him, since it was for undercover purposes. The kisses, the laughs, and the hugs...they were all fake, no love involved. 

Andrew's eyes widened, before copying the other Saporian's smirk. 

"Finally. You two go search the mainland, while we search the island. Where did you see her last?"

Now the old man spoke. "We lost her in the woods, but she was heading this way."

"We also found her horse near the bridge." 'Junie' added. Cassandra paled.

"Put up a good fight, but we managed to sedate her. She's in the stables now."

_Oh, no....no, no, no, no, no, no..._

Cassandra swallowed hard. If only she'd let Fidella come, then this wouldn't have happened. This just got a whole lot harder.

Andrew said nothing more, and beckoned for his stupid gang of clowns to follow him out, leaving Cass alone in the dilapidated throne room. Her thoughts ran wild, not knowing what to set her mind on. She'd received so much news, she didn't know how to completely process any of it. 

Old Corona being destroyed, Quirin being killed by the Saporians, Corona being obliterated by said people, Uncle Monty's death, Lady Caine _apparently_ being on the good side, then reformed woman being decapitated by her oldest enemy (NOT ex), Rapunzel being alive and leading a rebellion, Varian being alive, Fidella getting captured...it was all too much! 

Cassandra knew she couldn't just sit in this place forever. Her first priority was getting out of here and finding Rapunzel. She got up, brushing ash off her clothes. She then straightened her satchel and sheath, heading for the door. As she reached it, however, she felt a presence come from behind her, and sighed. When she turned around, her eyes caught coffee brown ones. Andrew held his still-bloodied sword out and grinned.

"Well, if it isn't my old flame." he chuckled.

Cassandra scowled. "I'm nobodies flame, _Hubert_." 

She grinned at his own scowl. "It's Andrew to you, Cassie." he bit. Cassandra rolled her eyes at the nickname. "It's Cassandra to you, Hubert. Only one person gets to call me that." she pulled out her sword, pointing it at the man. He copied the action, the points of their blades meeting.

"You know, you'd be a good addition to the group." Andrew said, as they slowly started circling each other. Cassandra shook her head. "I'm not on that path anymore, Hubert." 

She heard him mutter something about calling him Hubert, before he commented: "That's a shame. I was a fan of the blue, made your skin pop."

Cassandra didn't answer, instead throwing the first swing. Andrew blocked it, the sound of metal on metal bouncing of the walls. Cass grunted, being pushed back against the back wall. She barely managed to block his sword from chopping her chest, their faces inches away from each other. Andrew grinned, adding more pressure onto his blade, and pushing Cassandra's horribly close to her chest. 

She groaned, trying to push back. "I've missed being so close to you." her opponent whispered. He took one hand off his hilt, using it to cup her cheek. As he moved in the attach his lips to hers, she took this advantage. The swords-woman added enough pressure, pushing him away. He stumbled back in surprise, barely keeping himself on his feet. Cassandra jumped at him, and they once again started clashing blades. 

"So..." Andrew grinned, ducking Cassandra's swing. "Who's this 'one person' that can call you Cassie?" 

Cass answered with another swing, getting a cut to her opponent's shoulder. He hissed in pain, and Cassandra smirked. As they continued their battle, Andrew wouldn't stop trying to get her to lower her guard. "Don't tell me it's that traitor alchemist?" he smirked, and she froze for a moment. That gave him time to swipe his foot, knocking her off her feet. She fell to the ground hard, the air getting knocked out of her for a quick moment. She tried to reach for her sword, which had fallen out of her hand, but stopped when Andrew put the tip of his sword to her throat. 

"Wow, I didn't think him to be your type." he pressed the tip into her throat, but she didn't show any signs of pain. 

"Yeah, well, he's not." she said, surprising him by kicking in between his legs. He cried out, dropping his sword to grab his crotch. Cassandra took this moment to grab hers and his. When the Saporian looked up, both blades were pointed at him. Somehow, he didn't back down.

"Well, if you're not into me, and you're not into him...who _are_ you into?"

Cass scoffed and rolled her eyes. "At the moment, nobody. Honestly, I'm surprised you haven't picked it up." She kicked him in the gut, making him fall to his knees. She put the swords in a scissor position around his neck. He didn't so much as flinch, still wearing his egotistical smirk. "Picked up on what?"

Cass didn't answer, slowly tightening the swords on his neck. They nipped it slightly, and yet Andrew didn't show any sign of an emotion other than satisfaction, which confused the swords-woman. He could see this, and chuckled wickedly. "Prison's changed me, Cassie. I'm stronger, and much less merciful than you remember." he said coldly. Cassandra's eyes narrowed. "Yeah, I saw that."

Cassandra, continued to tighten the scissor, cutting deeper into the man's flesh. He still didn't show any sign of pain. "You can go ahead and hurt me as much as you want, even kill me. But it won't change what I did to Corona." he cackled. Cassandra groaned in annoyance, pulling the swords away, and stepping back. Andrew rolled his shoulders, not moving from his kneeling position. Cassandra found it interesting that he could stay blank-faced at blades digging into his skin, but somehow freaked about being kicked in his junk. It made her almost laugh.

The blood from his neck, as well as Caine's drying blood dripped to the floor. The sight was somewhat satisfying to the braided woman, but she knew she didn't have time for any of this. The sound of footsteps came from the hallway, and her head shot up. The Saporians had to have heard the fight. She looked back at Andrew, who smirked. "Well, whatcha gonna do, Cassie?"

The footsteps drew ever nearer, and Cass sighed. She sheathed her sword, throwing Andrew's across the room. His gaze never left her, and hers never left him, until she escaped through another door right as the Saporians entered the throne room. She didn't stop once; starting to run as soon as she was out the door. As annoyed as she was that she couldn't get rid of that bastard, she knew he was unfortunately right. Killing him wouldn't change the fact that her home was gone. It wouldn't turn back time, as much as she hoped it would. Finding the rebellion, finding _Rapunzel_ , was the only way she could help fix all of this. This war wouldn't end as long as Rapunzel was alive, and that was the only hope she could hang on to. 

When she got outside, she heard the shouts of the Saporians. _Crud._

She ran out the gates, dodging rubble and bones. Her feet didn't stop, especially when she heard the Saporians not far behind her. There wasn't any time to get Fidella, as much as she hated leaving her. All she could hope for was that they didn't hurt her, or she escaped. 

_Hope._ Oh, Sun, how she hated that damned word.

Passing the blacksmithery, she swore she could've seen in move. But there wasn't time; she was too tired, and the Saporians were catching up. Her feet brought her to the bridge, and she found her energy weighing against her. _Please make it. Please make it. Please make it._

She held her breath as she approached the large gap, and jumped. It felt like time slowed, as her body flew through the air. The gap suddenly seemed much bigger, and she feared she wouldn't make it across. Her legs were spread in an uncomfortable leap, arms acting as frozen wings. The water under the viaduct seemed closer, now, and the other side of the gap felt miles away. 

That's when time suddenly sped up again, and she somehow managed to land on the other side. But with her weak energy, her agility fell short, and her foot suddenly bent back at her landing. She cried out at the popping sensation it caused in her ankle, and she fell to her stomach. The pain was almost unbearable, and though she'd been through many sprains in her life, they never got better every time they happened. In fact, this time it felt _worse_.

She knew right away she couldn't move it, but she had to. She _had_ to. The Saporians would catch her if she didn't, and then all of this would be for nothing. She'd die before seeing Rapunzel again, or worse; Andrew would use her _against_ Rapunzel, which was more likely. 

The sound of feet landing next to her made her flinch. Welp, she was screwed. Rapunzel was screwed. Corona was screwed. Here they come...

She felt arms grab her under her armpits, and lift her up. She hissed in pain as she felt more pressure applied to her ankle, and heard a slight 'sorry' from next to her. This confused her, but before she could look over, she heard the sound of more footsteps. She looked behind her, and saw Andrew and the others across the gap. Wait, then who was carrying her?

She felt the arms adjust, one arm wrapping around her so the two could walk. They started speeding away from the Saporians, who were trying to get across without dying. Cassandra looked over at her apparent savior. Their head was covered by a hood, and their face by a mask. Cass wanted to say something, but was stopped as they quickly sped into the forest. 

Cass hissed once more at the pain in her ankle, clutching the cloaked person tighter. 

"Who...Who are you?" Cassandra groaned. 

"Shh! Wait until we're somewhere safe." the cloaked figure shushed. Their voice sounded female, and for a moment Cassandra felt her breath hitch at the though that it was Rapunzel. But as she examined the woman's figure, she seemed more.....thicker. Not overweight, thicker, but not as slim as Rapunzel's figure. It was possible her friend had changed over the years, but it didn't make much sense. 

The two finally got to the path Cassandra had taken yesterday and this morning; it was now midday. They took it until the half-way point, which is exactly how far Cass and Fidella went. The thought of her friend in the hands of Andrew made her sick, and she felt guilt build itself a hole in her stomach. 

To her surprise, they went to the exact same cave she'd slept in last night, and the cloaked woman set the Cass against the stone wall. She sighed, starting to undo her cloak. Cassandra sat straighter, wincing at her sprain. 

"Don't apply to much pressure to your foot. It'll only make it worse." the woman stated, her back to her.

Cass raised a brow. "I know."

The woman chuckled, and that's when Cassandra realized she wasn't Rapunzel. The woman pulled off her cloak, revealing long, auburn hair going down to her mid-back. It was as wavy as the sea, and Cassandra found it......pretty. 

"Oh, I know you know." the woman continued, taking off her mask. 

Cassandra once again arched a brow, but didn't say anything. She waited for the girl to turn around, examining her. She wore a long, red shirt, stretching not far over her butt. She wore black leggings under it, as well as a belt around her middle. Cassandra didn't even realize she was wearing boots, until she looked at her feet. They matched her leggings, almost exactly. In short, she looked pretty bad ass.

Finally, after a few minutes, she turned around, revealing a pale face. Her eyes were an ocean blue in contrast to her hair, and her face was lightly sprinkled in freckles. It reminded Cass of Rapunzel.

The girl smiled, lifting a hand. 

"Hello, Cassandra. I'm Rose."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I haven't actually experienced a sprained ankle before, but I did study a bit for info. I'm sorry if it's not very on point, I tried.
> 
> We also get to meet my OC in the next chapter, which I'm REALLY excited about!


	5. Rosanne Bakewell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassandra's just met a new ally, who seems a lot like the queen she's been searching for.
> 
> Speaking of which, she reunites with some old friends...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I have a thing for procrastination, which is why this got out a week earlier than intended...  
> I just really wanted to write this chapter!
> 
> Idk when the next chapter will be out, but it's going to be....something.
> 
> Hope y'all enjoy this one!

"Hello, Cassandra. I'm rose."

The woman's---Rose---voice suddenly became higher than just minutes ago, sounding more friendly than the dark and threatening cloaked figure minutes ago. Her lips were raised in a wide smile, showing off all of her pearly white teeth. Cass found it to be very similar to Rapunzel's, and if the girl didn't have ocean eyes or auburn locks, she would've actually mistaken her for the queen. 

Rose's small wave fell, and her face turned serious once more. Cloak in hands, she crouched down in front of the black-haired woman's ankle, and started wrapping it around the swelling appendage. Cass hissed in pain, as more pressure was applied by doing so. The girl stopped, giving her an apologetic grin. "I'm sorry! I don't do this much." 

Cassandra didn't know whether to love or hate the all to familiar personality. She remembered Rapunzel acting the exact same way after she, ironically, sprained her ankle seven years ago. The princess had apologized over and over, and always kept interrupting her from resting. As much as it annoyed her, she was grateful for her friend's over-caring attitude. 

She just nodded at the blue-eyed female to continue, which she did.

"This will keep it from moving more, which will provoke the damage. Once we get back to base-" Cass cut her off.

"Hold on, question: How do you know my name?"

The girl looked up at her and smirked. "Everyone knows who you are, _Cassandra_. Everyone's been waiting for you." she said cryptically. Cassandra hated cryptic and secretive talk, because she usually needed straight forward answers and explanations. Adira was a perfect example of what she hated.

"What do you mean everyone's been waiting for me?" 

Rose finished wrapping the cloak, and stood back up. That's when Cass noticed the two dagger's sheathed to her belt.

After a minute, Rose answered. "The rebellion. Everyone's been looking for more hope. The queen can only give them so much." she explained, taking a seat next to Cass on the stone wall. "It's been almost a year since Corona was....destroyed." her voice become sorrowful now, almost painful. "People have started to hope you'd show up, even after everything you did." 

Cass winced at the mention of her past, and Rose seemed to notice. "Sorry."

Cassandra eyed her warily, trying to pretend she didn't hear it. "How do I even know I can trust you? What if you're one of the Saporians?" Rose chuckled at this, confusing the other woman. "What?"

The girl shook her head. "I saved you back there, don't you think I would've just given you to those turds?" 

Cass bit her lip. "True." she murmured. It was _true._ If she was with Andrew, she would've handed her right over to them without a second thought. But instead, she brought her here, and helped her with her ankle. Besides, she seemed to know about what was happening, and where Rapunzel was. She was gonna have to trust her.

"Also, you don't see a Saporia emblem on me, do you?" 

Cass took a second to look around her neck, which was much tanner in comparison to her face. And like she said, there was no chain around it. Sighing, she nodded in defeat. Rose laughed, resting her head against the cave. 

"Well, you should get some rest before we head out to the base. We're lucky there's multiple entrances."

Cassandra raised a brow. "What do you mean?"

Rose scoffed. "So many questions. You'll get your answers in time, but right now you needto rest. You look exhausted." 

Cassandra groaned. Why'd she have to have _all_ of the information, yet not give any of it to her? All she got was that the rebellion actually _wanted_ her to come back! Why? She'd hurt them, hurt their queen; why would they want her back? They were most likely desperate for anything, considering---according to her new "friend"---Corona had been in this state for almost a year, and she was the only Coronan not here at the time. She was their only hope. 

Cass sighed, laying her head back. 

Cassandra hadn't realized she'd fallen asleep until her eyes opened. Something was shaking her shoulder gently, a muffled voice reaching for her. She groaned, sitting up. Her eyes slowly fluttered open, and caught a blurry face. Her hands came up to rub them, and a few seconds later, everything got clearer. The blurred voice became the auburn haired, blue eyed woman she'd met....yesterday? A few hours ago? How long had she been out?

"Hey sleepy, we gotta get going." the Rapunzel-like voice spoke, getting to her feet.

Cassandra looked to the entrance of the cave, seeing it was still light out. She felt a cold chill blow against her, and pulled her cloak close to her. She noticed Rose slightly shiver, and realized she didn't have a cloak. Hadn't she had one before?

Cass tried to stand, but cried out as pain shot through her left leg. Rose winced. "Forgot about the ankle, huh?"

Cass looked at her leg, and saw black cloth wrapped around it. That's when she remembered more clearly the events that took place, and how she landed badly on the bridge. Rose had used her cloak to try and keep it stable, which somewhat worked. It didn't help heal it in any way, but that would probably happen when they reached the 'base', wherever that was. Usually Cass would be cautious, and not go with some mysterious stranger somewhere she didn't know. But at this point, there were more reasons _to_ go with her than to not. 

1\. She didn't have a Saporian emblem

2\. She saved Cass from Andrew

3\. She seemed to know all about Rapunzel and the rebellion

4\. She hadn't given her a reason to not trust her so far

5\. She was pretty.......NOT that that was an exact reason, of course! That was just...something Cassandra noticed.......totally.

Shaking the last thought from her mind, she allowed Rose to help her stand. She had to keep her foot off the ground, while Rose held her to her side. Cassandra offered her the cloak, but the woman declined. This woman not only sounded and acted like Rapunzel, but she was just as stubborn. It was strange...to see Rapunzel's personality in a completely different body, yet the woman was also _so_ different, in more ways than physical. 

They left the cave, heading who know's where. They headed down the path in the direction of Old Corona, which made Cassandra uneasy. Rose noticed this.

"You okay?" she asked.

Cassandra only nodded. 

Rose chuckled. "You know, your reputation precedes you." she comments, catching the other girl's attention. Rose helped her over a log, before explaining. "People always talk about how reserved you are. You bottle up your feelings deep, and when they finally come out, it.....well, doesn't end up being good."

Cassandra scoffed. "What do you know? You've barely known me a few hours, and you act like you know me."

"That's what the phrase 'Your reputation precedes you' means." Rose laughed. "But, you're right. I _don't_ know you. I only know what I've heard. So far, what I've heard isn't so far from the actual you."

They stopped talking after that, Cassandra hated the uncomfortable silence. Rose didn't seem to care, seeming more determined than anything. Cassandra didn't know if she'd admit it, but she admired that. In fact, that's a trait she loved in woman like herself, and even looked for. Not that she'd ever say anything about it.....but it was still something she wouldn't stop thinking about. 

After twenty minutes, the sky slowly grew darker. The air got chillier, and the forest became dark blue. By the time they reached Old Corona, it'd be almost completely dark. Was the base really this close to Corona? 

Rose helped Cassandra sit on a fallen tree for a break, and pulled out one of her daggers. She started scraping something into the tree, but Cassandra couldn't see what it was. "What are you doing?" 

Rose looked up from her crouched position. "I'm marking it, so the collectors can come get the wood when we run out." 

"The collectors?" Cassandra questioned. 

Rose continued scraping the tree. "They come out every two to three weeks for wood and materials. Hunters come out every week for food and water, and scouters..." she pointed at herself. "...like me, go out every day to spy on the Saporians." Rose finished marking the tree, and sheathed her dagger. "I was just leaving to scout when I saw you five hours ago." 

Cassandra recalled seeing the fireplace shifting at Xavier's. Rapunzel had told her about the secret storage room below it, and came to a sudden realization.

"Hold on. Are you saying the base is under Xavier's? Then why the hell are we going this way?"

Rose laughed, crossing her arms. "Oh, it's not _just_ under Xavier's." she smirked. Cassandra took a moment to think, before it all dawned on her. "So, Xavier's storage room is connected to Herz Der Sonne's tunnels, which is where the base is?" she asked. Rose nodded. 

It made _so_ much sense now. When the kingdom was being attacked, that was probably the only place of escape they had. How Andrew (someone who was very familiar with Corona) didn't know about the old caverns, was beyond her. But what really surprised her, was that she'd been above them this whole time. How could she have been so dull?!

"What about the traps?"

Rose sighed in annoyance, and rolled her eyes. "Aye, Aye, Aye, with the questions!" she groaned. Her hand moved to her hip, the other hanging at her side.

"With the water tanks installed a few years back, they had to---safely---get rid of most of them. Over the months, The Royal engineer and a smaller group went out to find and get rid of the rest." she explained. The mention of Varian made Cassandra smile slightly. 

"Now, can we get going?" Rose said impatiently. 

Cassandra nodded, and Rose helped her up. As they continued their way through the forest, Cassandra couldn't help but ask: "So, who are you anyway? And don't you dare repeat your name!" 

Rose chuckled. "Okay, well...my real name is Rosanne Bakewell. I'm twenty-eight, and I'm an orphan."

Cassandra looked at her sadly as she continued. "My parents died twenty years ago, and I was taken in by the man I grew to consider my brother, in the kingdom of Pincosta. We were both orphans; him being only two years older than me, and we had each others backs for a years. He taught me to fight, swim, and to take care of myself." explained. Cassandra was confused as to how she was so quick to explain her life story to someone she just met, but didn't question it as she continued.

"But seven years ago he disappeared, and I went looking for him. It lead me to the city of Varderos, where...." she swallowed hard. A tear slipped down her cheek, and Cass instinctively wiped it off with her free hand. Rose stopped talking, and for a few minutes, they walked in silence. The crickets began to chirp in her voice's place, as well as the silent brushing of wind against the underbrush.

Finally, to Cassandra's surprise, she started talking again. "I moved to Corona afterward, alone. I built myself a cabin near the Old Corona village, and lived there for a few years. His death...I never got over it. Without him, I felt...I _feel_ like I'm missing a piece of myself." she chuckled. "I guess it doesn't matter, now. It was so long ago, and now I have to help the survivors of Corona, and the queen. I shouldn't be distracted. I have to get you to the base." 

Her face became hard in determination, and Cassandra couldn't help but feel pity for the poor woman. She reminded her a lot of herself. Lost her parents young, taken in, then...she suddenly gasped. Rose jumped in shock, and turned to face her. 

"Cassandra? Are-Are you okay?" she asked, worried. 

Cass swallowed, before nodding. But Rose wasn't at all convinced. 

"Cassandra?" 

Cass suddenly couldn't hear Rose's voice. No, when she said her name, she heard someone else. She heard her father. She heard the former captain. She heard her _dad._

"Cassandra?" his voice called again. Cass felt her body start to shake, and her anxiety spike up. What happened to her dad? What happened to the man who raised her and kept her safe? She hadn't thought of him ONCE during the last few days! Did he get killed in the explosions? Did he get tortured like Lady Caine, then killed? Was he alive? What if the Saporians had him? They would surely use him against her...

"Cassandra!" the voice yelled. This time, however, her father's voice morphed back into Rose's. The shaking slowed, but only just. And her anxiety level barely lowered. Her breath was hallow with fear, as she soon came back to time. Rose wasn't at her side anymore, but in front of her. She had both hands on her shoulders, shaking her until she saw the recognition come back. Her grip loosened. 

"Cass? Are you okay?" 

Cassandra swallowed hard, nodding slightly. "Y-Yeah...um...j-just a small panic attack..." she bit her lip. Rose arched a brow. "Yeah...just a small panic attack." she repeated, unconvinced. Rose could tell she wouldn't talk, knowing her from rumors and small conversations with the queen. So she just sighed, going back to her side. She knew talking was and wasn't the best way to deal with panic attacks. It depended on the person (she herself was someone who took every opportunity to talk about her emotions), and sometimes people like the one beside her hated to deal with them like that. Sometimes, people tried to not deal with them at all, which she knew could lead to bad things. 

So Rose just kept carrying the fear-stricken woman down the path, wanting to help, but not knowing how. If only she knew what it was that got her so worked up...

By nightfall, as Cassandra had predicted, they reached Old Corona. The black-haired woman tried to keep her eyes away from the sight, still unnerved by it all. Rose was used to the sight, after countless days of running to and from the place. But it was still a hard sight, considering she used to call it her home.

Cassandra limped along with her, until they reached a house not far from the old manor. Near it was a small creak, which ran through a small metal gate under the house. The water continued to the other side of the village, while discrete to others, a secret tunnel next to it. Rose helped Cassandra keep her leg above the water, while she pulled off the gate. Once the two ducked under, she pulled it back up. Cassandra leaned against the stone wall as the other girl did the gate, and listened to the running water below her.

Throughout the rest of their walk here, all she could think about was her father. The last time she saw him, she left him in a small village to continue her journey two years ago. They wrote letters every week, as she did with the others, but something about his letters....his comforting and prideful words on the pieces of parchment....just felt more like home. He was her father, blood or not. And he always would be, she knew. What she didn't know was that she'd come back to a destroyed kingdom, full of dead and missing people. Her father was among the missing, and she clung to the hope of him being alive. Hope. Hope. Hope.

She came back from her thoughts when a sudden light flooded the darkness around her. She looked behind her to see Rose carrying a lit torch, that seemed to have been hung on the wall. Smart...

Rose helped her up from the wall, and they walked through the tunnel for a few minutes, until they reached a wooden door. Rose opened it, which allowed a small stream of water to curve inside the dark tunnel ahead. Once inside, Rose immediately slammed the door closed, so no more water would get in (or, you know, nobody comes down and sees an open wood door). The two girls once again started down a hall of bricks, and dry stone floor. It had an eerie vibe, which Cass had already experienced seven years ago. Her, Rapunzel, Xavier, and Pascal had come down to search for the ancient device that could (and did) stop the large blizzard. It had been the only time she'd been down here, besides when she came to get the scroll....and ended up kidnapping Varian in the process. Then, since she had so much power, she never felt the same creepiness. 

After almost ten minutes, a sudden light came from the end of the hall. Cassandra's eyes widened. 

Rose set the torch on a hanger, before they approached the light. It was a long line of torches, leading down to the end, which had a continuing two halls on either side. When they got to it, Cassandra noticed a large sign that showed arrows pointing either way. To the right was the bathrooms, showers, laboratory, and Corona, while to the left was the Demanitus device chamber, which apparently doubled as the sleeping chamber. They took that way, walking a little ways before reaching the blocked off doorway where the chamber lied.

Cassandra took a deep breath. She was going to see....a lot. Rapunzel, maybe Eugene if he survived, and maybe even Varian (if he wasn't in the laboratory or missing). If she was even luckier, she'd see dad. There was going to be _quite_ the conversation. 

And she wasn't at all ready for it...

Rose pressed the brick to open the chamber, and the door opened next to them. A large, warm light came from it, forming shadows underneath their feet. Cassandra swallowed hard, as Rose helped her limp with her to the doorway. What Cassandra saw.....she didn't know whether she expected it or not.

The Demanitus device was the first thing she noticed; which was actually what she _didn't_ notice, because it wasn't there anymore. Instead, it was a large floor that had been built over the large hole. This made a lot more room inside the chamber, allowing the many, many, _many_ , people inside to lie down and sit around. There were hundreds of them, and yet they all fit in one room, though they weren't too sparse. Many sat against the circular walls of the chamber, allowing for more space in the middle. It was a horrible sight.

Many people, Cass noticed, were injured. People with missing limbs, broken and sprained body parts, or illnesses were on cots that sat at the other end of the room, far from the long staircase leading down. Many children sat alone, no doubt their parents gone, making them orphans. And the adults without children looked just as depressing. Cassandra also noticed a small amount of guards standing near the staircase (almost under her), and it killed her to see there weren't many. Her spirits were raised, however, when she saw a familiar captain standing among them. Cassandra never thought she'd be happy to see Eugene, but here she found herself full of high spirits. 

They were raised further, when she saw a familiar brunette standing next to him, holding a small child in her arms.

"Baaaaaaaaack!" Rose shouted. Her voice rang out, causing everyone to look up at the two.

Cassandra felt a blush of embarrassment rise up in her, but she kept quiet. 

"And I brought someone with me!"

Welp, there goes hiding the blush. All the attention now sat on her; the hooded woman next to the auburn haired. She sighed, pulling off her hood. Gasps filled the whole chamber, and a few cries of joy. But one squeal rose above them all. 

The second the two woman got to the bottom of the stairs, a bear hug engulfed Cass. It was familiarly warm, and felt like a million puppies were clutching her. The satisfying feeling was upsettingly followed by a surge of pain in her ankle. She hissed, pulling away from Rapunzel's hug. 

"Ope, I'm so sorry!" the queen apologized, wincing at the cloak wrapped around Cassandra's ankle. She just shrugged, then gave her a warm and endearing smile. Rapunzel sent one in return, giving her a much more gentle embrace. Cass returned it, adjusting to her new support. Rose broke away, smiling at this sweet reunion.

Many people started to murmur and chatter, many of them sounding joyful and relieved. Cassandra hadn't exactly expected this reaction, considering a few years prior she was a villain to them...but, like she thought before, they were running for hope. And they grasped the only thing they could find. 

"I'm so happy to see you!" Rapunzel interrupted her thoughts. "I've been hoping you'd come back, and...and you have! I just didn't really expect....that." she gestured to her ankle. Cassandra chuckled. "I'll tell you about it later, once I get it properly bandaged." she replied.

Rapunzel gasped. "Oh my gosh, of course! Come!" she guided her over to the cots of injured and sick citizens, seating her on one that was a bit further from the others for some semblance of privacy. Rapunzel ordered for a doctor, who was now starting to work on the sprained body part. Rose stood a few feet away, smirking at her as Rapunzel tried making conversation, a bit too delighted. Her whole kingdom had been annihilated, and people were dead........how in the actual holy core of hell was she so thrilled and happy? The fact that Cass was back made some sense, but how was she _this_ happy? 

As much as she tried to listen to her best friend, she couldn't help but let her eyes explore the chamber. The people looked so gloomy.......so hurt and sad....it wasn't like the Corona she knew four years ago. She couldn't help but blame herself for it.

She was distracted by the sound of footsteps heading their way. She looked up to see Eugene, holding the tiny human Rapunzel had a few minutes ago. The boy was sleeping against the captain's chest, hair the same as his mother and father's. He had Eugene's face shape, and Rapunzel's freckles. She couldn't tell who's eyes he matched, but she would when he woke up. She turned her attention back to Eugene, who smiled warmly at her.

"Hey." he greeted.

"Hey." Cass greeted back awkwardly.

Rapunzel stopped talking when she realized Eugene had come. She gasped, reaching her arms out. "Oh, Eugene! I'm so sorry! When I saw Cass, I just-" 

Eugene chuckled, pushing her hands down. "It's okay, Sunshine." he adjusted the boy into the crook of his arm, using the other the massage his wife's shoulder. Rapunzel leaned into the touch. Cassandra gave a small smile at the sweet scene. 

After a silent moment, Eugene took a seat on the other side of Cass. "So..." he started awkwardly, trailing off. Cassandra bit her lip, not knowing what to say either. There was obviously a lot to talk about, but when it came to actually _starting_ that conversation...it was a bit difficult. 

As she thought over this, she caught eyes with a man a few feet away, staring knives into her. He looked to be in his mid-forties, with blonde hair going down to his shoulders, and aging brown eyes narrowed her way. His clothes were torn, and he looked like he hadn't eaten in weeks. She didn't recognize him, what did he have against her? Oh, wait...

When the man noticed her staring, he quickly turned away, facing the other side of the room. Cassandra sighed. She knew that not everybody would welcome her back so easily, but it still wasn't easy.....seeing that man just stare into her soul with anger and bitterness. That'd be hard to get used to. Is that how Varian felt like when he reformed? Speaking of, where was the alchemist?

She looked over to Rapunzel, who wouldn't stop smiling sadly at her. Cassandra wanted to chuckle at this, but couldn't find it in herself to. She needed answers first. When Rapunzel saw the anxiety in Cassandra's face, she frowned. 

"Cass, what's wrong?"

Cassandra swallowed, scanning the room before looking back at her friend.

"What happened?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We'll get some more info in the next chapter!


	6. Life After Happily Ever.....Not yet!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cassandra learns a piece of the story of the downfall of her kingdom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we go, folks!
> 
> This took WAY longer to write than I imagined, but....IT'S DONE! 
> 
> This won't be the complete story of what happened, but it's the start!
> 
> Anyways, enjoy!

**_ONE YEAR AGO:_ **

_ Rapunzel wanted to scream into a pillow. For ten hours, the new queen (for about three months) had been doing nothing but going to meetings, speaking with ambassadors, and talking about new renovations to the kingdom, which weren't even that big. She longed to see her husband and son, who she hadn't seen all day, and write her weekly letter to Cass.  _

_ But with everything going on, she hadn't found much time to do either of those things. Sometimes she still wished she hadn't become queen, and wanted to travel back to when life was....well, simpler. Not that black rocks, seventy feet of hair, celestial objects, or friend betrayals were exactly THAT, but at least she got to actually see the people she cared for. Plus, back then she got to adventure. She got to travel, experience, and do amazing things that nobody else had ever done before.  _

_ That obviously didn't mean she didn't want her adorable two-year old child. It just meant she wanted more adventures beforehand. _

_ It also meant she didn't want to be sitting in her office right now with Old Lady Crowley complaining about the castle staff schedule.  _

_ "I say you make it so they wake up earlier, so they get more stuff done!" the old woman was saying, though Rapunzel was hardly listening. Her mind wandered to the past; memories of turning into a bird, fighting giant robots, and fending off a demon passing through her mind. She smiled softly at some, while others made her mentally cry. Crowley eventually noticed this, and scoffed.  _

_ Rapunzel didn't realize she was leaving, until she heard her mutter, "Youth these days..." and get up from her seat across from the queen's desk. Rapunzel was knocked out of her daydreaming, and she quickly got to her feet as Crowley walked over to the door. "Oh, Mrs. Crowley, wait!"  _

_ But the door slammed shut. Rapunzel groaned, slumping over her desk miserably. She was tired, bored, exhausted, and nearing the edge of her patience. If she had to speak to one more "important" person, she was gonna-- _

_ Her thoughts were cut off by the sound of the door squeaking open. "Mommy!" _

_ When the woman looked up, she was barreled into by a small figure, clutching her tightly. She yelped in surprise, before chuckling. Her husband, Eugene, came in after, giving her her favorite shining smile.  _

_ She moved her little boy up into her arms, and chuckled at his adorable lit up face. She bopped the child's nose, making him giggle. "Are you having fun with daddy today, Sweetie?" she asked sweetly. The boy nodded vigorously. "Uh, huh! He took me to Uncle Vawian's wab, and then we went to Uncle Monty's!" he explained excitedly. He suddenly gasped, quickly jumping out of his mother's arms.  _

_ He ran to his father, pulling a book from the man's coat, before bringing it back to Rapunzel. He lifted it up for her to see. "Wook! Wook! My name's wight hew on this book!" he jumped. The title on the cover read: Flynn Rider and the Hidden Cavern of Gold. It was the first book in the trilogy, and it happened to be both Eugene and Varian's favorite.  _

_ Rapunzel giggled, pulling little Flynn into her arms. "Did he read it to you?"  _

_ Flynn nodded. "Uncle Vawian gave it to me, and da-da wed it to me." _

_ Eugene came over as he said this, and the couple locked lips in a short, but sweet kiss. Flynn made a disgusted 'yuck' sound, and squirmed for them to separate. They both laughed, complying to the little boy. He leaned against his mom's chest, letting out a small yawn. Eugene ran a hand through his hair, before looking at his stressed wife.  _

_ "How's your day been, Sunshine?" he asked.  _

_ Rapunzel sighed heavily at the reminder that the day was not yet over. She gave him a forced smile. "Well...I mean, it could be going a lot worse." she chuckled. Eugene gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry. I wish there was something I could do." _

_ The brunette woman shrugged. "All part of a day in the life of a queen, right?"  _

_ Before Eugene could answer, the door was suddenly banged open. This caused everyone, including Flynn, to jump. Pete stood there in the doorway, sweating from what looked to be a long run. At this time of day, he was usually positioned at the front gates, which was pretty far from this fourth level room.  _

_ He lifted a finger as he doubled over for air. Eugene raised an eyebrow. "Pete? What's going on?" the captain asked. _

_ After a moment, Pete finally caught his breath and stood straight. "Your majesty, Captain, there's been a prison break." he announced. _

_ Rapunzel's eyes widened. "Who escaped, and when did it happen?" _

_ "About ten minutes ago, your highness." he swallowed hard, expression turning into a look of worry. This didn't pass either of the others, and they glanced at each other in concern. "Who escaped, Pete?" Eugene repeated. _

_ The guard looked behind him, before answering. "The Saporians." _

_ The couple didn't think twice, immediately jumping into action. Rapunzel handed Flynn off to Pete, and ordered him to take the boy to his room and guard it. Flynn, confused about what was happening, whined. Eugene had ran out the door a few seconds ago, so Rapunzel had to comfort him for a moment, before grabbing her emergency frying pan, and racing after her husband. _

_ She knew they both had the same thought, and she hated to think it. The Saporians were one of Corona's biggest enemies, as well as the biggest enemy of one of her closest friends. No doubt they'd come after Varian for betraying them, and the sun knows what they'd do to him. Rapunzel thought over the many possibilities as she ran through the corridors, passing surprised members of the palace staff, ignoring their concerned calls and shouts. _

_ What if Andrew captured Varian? What if he tortured the boy she grew to consider as a brother? What if he killed him like he'd said on the airship five years ago? What if... _

_ Her thoughts and body came to an abrupt halt in front of the large, metal door of Varian's lab. Eugene waited on the other side, a hand gently placed on the door handle, while the other held the hilt of his sheathed weapon. The door sat in an empty hallway in the lowest part of the castle (next to the dungeons), that way nobody would be harmed in case of an explosion or something. It unfortunately also made it easier for enemies, such as the Saporians, to sneak around and have quick access to it. Rapunzel hoped they weren't too late. _

_ She took her place on the other side of the door, frying pan at the ready. She honestly had no clue why Eugene didn't order for backup, but Pete would probably take it upon himself to send some, which she hoped for. As long as there were still guards keeping her child safe. _

_ She nodded to the captain, and he slammed the metal door open. They both jumped in front of the doorway, holding their weapons out. They were surprised when they found the large room empty, with nothing but viles, books, and notes scattered about the area. Varian wasn't in sight. But they knew the lab stretched beyond this single room, so they silently slipped inside, not daring to lower their guards.  _

_ The only sign that anybody had ever been in here, was the blue chemical sitting on top of a burner on Varian's workbench. To keep it from causing any bad reactions, Eugene turned it off. Rapunzel was on the other side of the room, heading for the door leading to Varian's bedroom. As she was about to reach it, a soft whimper stopped her in her tracks.  _

_ Eugene heard it to, looking around for it's source. The whimpering continued from the end of the room, where a large bookshelf sat. Books lay scattered all over the floor, and when Rapunzel and her husband got to it, she gasped.  _

_ Ruddiger was lying in the middle of the pile, trying to get to his feet. But every time the injured raccoon did so, he'd fall back down with a squeak. The couple had been so distracted by the hurt animal, they didn't realize the door Rapunzel had almost opened slid open.  _

_ "Well, well, well. If it isn't the new queen of Corona." a familiar voice sneered. Rapunzel and Eugene both span around in surprise, throwing their weapons up in front of them. Andrew chuckled at this. "Well, you sure look different without your long locks. Maybe this'll be a lot easier." _

_ Eugene narrowed his eyes. "Oh, I wouldn't EVER underestimate Rapunzel. Even without her sundrop powers, she's still WAY stronger than that doughnut on your head." _

_ This made Andrew clench his fists in anger.  _

_ Rapunzel kept from laughing, focusing on something else. "Where's Varian?" she asked. Andrew's anger disappeared in a quick moment, suddenly morphing into a wicked smirk. "I was hoping you'd ask." _

_ At that, the door next to him opened wider, and five more figures came out.  _

_ Kai was holding Varian, who's arms were bound behind his back, and his mouth gagged with a cloth. Rapunzel's heart almost shattered at the look of fear on the alchemist's face. A few tear streaks going down his cheeks made it even worse to look at. Everyone laughed at Rapunzel's heart-stopped reaction, taking both her and Eugene by surprise when they threw two pink goo balls at their feet. A large cloud of magenta smoke exploded around them, causing the lovers to cough wildly. _

_ When it cleared, both Eugene and Rapunzel were trapped in goo. Eugene grunted, failing his desperate attempt to get out of the sticky substance. Andrew smirked, throwing a pink sphere in the air, catching it in his hand again. "Looks like you've gotten yourselves into a sticky situation, there." he chuckled, putting the sphere into his satchel. Rapunzel's eyes fell back on Varian, who was staring daggers into the man's skull.  _

_ "Let us out, Andrew." Eugene growled.  _

_ Andrew's eyes widened in mock surprise. "Oh, so NOW you know my name? It's not just 'Less-attractive-than-me-guy-with-the-man-bun' now?" he grinned evilly. Rapunzel was longing to slam her cooking utensil into that smug visage. When they'd first met, Rapunzel couldn't lie that she had found him a bit attractive. Not as attractive as her husband, of course, but still a good looking man. But after he almost destroyed her kingdom twice (this was going to be the third, unless she stopped him), she could see every flaw in his features. She could see every bit of anger, bitterness, and stubbornness carved into his being. She absolutely despised it.  _

_ "Let us out!" Eugene repeated, ignoring the man's witty comment.  _

_ Andrew rolled his eyes, reaching his hand into his bag to pull out the neutralizer. Rapunzel's eyes narrowed. He wasn't going to let them out without something, and Rapunzel didn't want to know what that something was.  _

_ The Saporian stopped just a few inches away from the couple, rolling the ball in his hand. "Oh, I will. I just need you to cooperate with me before I do." his grin grew, as well as Rapunzel's narrowed eyes.  _

_ "What do you want from us?" she asked with suspicion.  _

_ Andrew gesured to Rapunzel's frying pan, which was still in her hand, and Eugene's clutched sword. It had crossed Rapunzel's mind that the man was close enough for her to hit, knock the sphere out of his hand, and free herself. But then what? She'd have to find another neutralizing sphere to free Eugene, plus the other Saporians seemed to have more goo balls. There were too many variables, and not much time to deal with them. So she didn't make any move, though her instincts kept begging her to do so. _

_ "I want Corona to burn to ashes, and for New Saporia to rise from them. That's what I've wanted from the beginning; and I won't stop until I get it. So..." he waved a hand back at the Saporians. Juniper, who was standing directly beside the restrained alchemist, pulled out a dagger with a coal black hilt, and shiny sharp blade. To Rapunzel's horror, she placed the metal directly at Varian's neck, making the nineteen-year-old's breath stop. _

_ Andrew chuckled. He pulled out a second neutralizing sphere, and rubbed it with his thumb. "We don't have much time here, Queen." _

_ Rapunzel suddenly realized that there would be guards down here any minute now. If they got there before she and Eugene gave in, Varian would be dead. The situation grew tighter. _

_ "You have one minute to drop the weapons and give up, or, well, you know."  _

_ To emphasize the point, Juniper pushed the dagger further into Varian's throat, making him yelp under the cloth in his mouth. Rapunzel flinched at this, her grip on her pan loosening at every passing second. She turned to lock eyes with her husband, who shared the same anxious expression. If they did give up, who knows what Andrew and his cronies (or flower-children, as Eugene called them) would do to Corona; he could use the wand of oblivium again, or even try to blow the city to smithereens again. But if they waited, and let the guards come, Andrew would slit Varian's throat. Varian was a smart kid, and he'd made many mistakes in his short lifetime. But he'd made up for them, and had an all too promising future ahead of him. Not to mention, the queen and her husband had grown to love the boy as a little brother.  _

_ What should they do? _

_ "Time's running out." Andrew slurred. The knife pressed horribly further, drawing a line of blood. The boy's cry was muffled, and his eyes were shut tight. A few tears streamed down his face. _

_ Rapunzel and Eugene had a silent argument, though neither knew exactly what side they were on. Eugene cared just as much for the alchemist as Rapunzel did, but he also knew that more people would die if they did something. But everything they did always worked out in the end; even turning into BIRDS ended up fine. So there had to be a chance to save both Varian, and the rest of Corona. _

_ Both sighing, they dropped their weapons to the floor, a loud 'clang' echoing throughout the room. They both raised their hands in surrender, as the dagger was pulled away from Varian's throat, and re-sheathed. Rapunzel winced at the small nick from the sharp blade, and the red liquid lining his neck. She knew how queasy he tended to get around blood, and hoped he couldn't see or feel it. _

_ "Good choice." Andrew smirked, grabbing the frying pan and sword. He tossed the sword across the room, and span the metal pan in his hand. "You know, maybe I could invest in one of these. They work well for you." he chuckled. Rapunzel just glared at him in return.  _

_ She suddenly heard the sound of running footsteps from outside the door, swallowing hard.  _

_ Andrew nodded to the Saporians, and they threw Varian back into his quarters, Clementine following as a guard. When Rapunzel looked back to their leader, she was surprised by a sudden blow to her head. She immediately grew weak, legs quivering in their sticky binds. Her head throbbed from the meet of metal to skull, and her vision started to blur. Even the sound of someone calling her name grew blurry, muffled by the sound of a loud ringing in her ears. _

_ In a few moments, the stickiness on her feet suddenly disappeared, and she fell backwards to the ground. Her blurred sight was filled by the tall ceiling, as black dots started covering it like a grape juice stain. The last few things she heard were the sounds of metal clashing, and doors slamming, before the ringing finally stopped, and her eyes were covered. _

_ Her senses faded into a cold darkness. _

_ (------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------) _

"We were locked in the dungeons for weeks; almost two months." Rapunzel was explaining. Cassandra now lied fully on her cot, her ankle covered with bandages. Rapunzel sat at her side, while Eugene and a still sleeping Flynn sat in a chair at her other side. Rose had disappeared somewhere, though Cassandra was too focused on the story Rapunzel was telling, and the information she was being filled in on to care at the moment. 

"We don't exactly know fully what happened during the time we were locked up." Eugene continued for her, shifting slightly. "But we eventually escaped, along with Lance, the girls, and a few other of their prisoners. We immediately went to Xavier's hidden basement, and started planning. What we didn't count on happening, was the flower-children blowing up the whole place. We evacuated as many people as we could, but we barely saved a little more than a quarter of Coronans. It was brutal." Eugene sighed, looking down. 

Rapunzel leaned over and put a hand on his arm, giving him a look of pity and comfort. "I couldn't have saved them either, Eugene. We should be focusing on the people we _did_ save, and use it to our advantage." 

Cassandra's eyes widened slightly at Rapunzel's orderly words. She was way more mature now, even more so than four years ago. She could plan battle strategies, protect her people, and more that she wasn't capable of when she was fresh out of the tower. Now she had a husband, a kid, and was a queen. Rapunzel was much more stronger and wiser because of everything that had happened in her life, and now she was going to use those skills to help save Corona and her family. Of course, she wouldn't of had to if Cass hadn't left, but still...

Then, a sudden thought came to the woman. 

"Hey, where's Varian?" she asked.

The two looked over uncomfortably, with the same expressions full of...sorrow? Pity, maybe? It was odd; Cassandra couldn't tell, and she was usually really good at reading people. But for some reason, she couldn't read these two.

After a minute, Rapunzel finally stood up. She brushed off her skirt, before handing Cassandra the crutches that the doctor had given her. "Come see for yourself." she said, in a strangely sad tone. Something was wrong. _Terribly_ wrong if the topic of said alchemist was making her feel this way. Cass had a feeling that it wouldn't take long for the emotion to spread to herself.

Eugene stood up as well, setting Flynn down on the cot, and tucking him in. They both helped Cass to stand up with the crutches, which took a few minutes. After doing so, they helped her up the long flight of stairs, which was even more difficult. With heavy effort, they managed to get Cass up without her falling to her death. Rapunzel then announced that she would be taking Cassandra on a walk, and would like everyone to stay in the chamber until they got back. Cassandra still found herself in complete aw over this---over her strong leadership. It was truly amazing how much the brunette had grown. 

Eugene and Rapunzel lead Cass down the dark halls of Herz Der Sonne's tunnels, using the same torch Rose had used to light their way. When they made it to the sign from before, they went the opposite way---towards the bathrooms, lab, and Corona. This one was much longer, with many more ways to go. Most of the tunnels connected to the one they walked through had been blocked off, or for the royal family only. Cass found this strange, but didn't say anything. 

After a few minutes, she finally asked, "Hey, Raps?" Rapunzel looked over to her and smiled. Oh, how Cass missed that bright smile. "Yes, Cass?" 

"Where are your parents?" Apparently that was the wrong question the ask, because the queen completely froze. Her eyes grew distant, and full of regret and despair. Cassandra hated that look on her. 

Eugene quickly made his way over to pull Rapunzel into a hug, before looking back to Cass. He didn't have to say anything for her to know what happened, shaking his head softly. Cassandra's chest tightened. The fact that the former royal leaders hadn't survived sat horribly with her; and not just because they were her best friends' parents. It was also the fact that they'd gone through almost as much as Rapunzel has, and didn't get to see their daughter grow up. Sure, they probably got to see her change from the eighteen year old she used to be, but that didn't mean it wasn't hard that they'd missed the woman's entire childhood.

That's not to mention after that. The rocks, Rapunzel's hair returning, Varian, her going out to see the world, Cassandra's betrayal, Zhan Tiri. Sure, Fredrick wasn't _exactly_ the best king, or even father. He made some pretty rash decisions that lead to some......unwanted scenarios. But that didn't mean he deserved to die, especially Arianna, who Cassandra thought of as one of the kindest women she'd ever met (she would never say that to Rapunzel, though). 

So, yeah, the two's deaths didn't take a very easy toll on this warrior. 

"I'm sorry, Raps. I didn't-"

"No, i-it's fine." Rapunzel cut her off, pulling away from her lover's embrace. She forced back tears, and stood straighter, an obviously fake smile plastering across her face. "Let's keep going." 

She didn't give Cass or Eugene the time to say anything, as she continued walking in front of them. This wasn't something Rapunzel wanted to talk about at the moment, so Cass would respect that. Didn't mean she wouldn't ask about it later, though. She shrugged, and followed after the queen.

They continue their walk in complete, and oddly comfortable, silence. Given it hadn't ended on a nice note, they were still strangely chill, and it surprised even Cass herself. After walking in that quiet for almost ten minutes, they reached the bathrooms. Cassandra thought that it was weird for them to be so far from the Demanitus Chamber, but when she asked, Eugene explained that it was closer to Varian's water tanks, and easier to build. 

After passing those, they reached a large, metal door. It wasn't very tall, since they obviously had to forge it out of all the scrap metal they could find, without getting caught by the Saporians. Rapunzel put a hesitant hand on the door, and turned to face her friend. 

"Okay, Cass. Just a warning; Varian is....different, than when you last saw him. Some things happened, and he hasn't been the same since." she warned. Cassandra felt her heart drop. Had he gone crazy, maybe? Maybe the last straw of his saneness had been drawn when his father had been killed. It wasn't impossible, but Cass hoped that wasn't the case.

After a moment, she nodded.

Eugene took her other side, and Rapunzel swallowed hard.

Then, she opened the door. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realized that basically every chapter ends on a cliffhanger...I swear I'll stop doing that!
> 
> Anyways, this chapter isn't my favorite. I don't think it's my best writing, but....oh well!  
> Next chapter is gonna be depressing AF, so beware!
> 
> Anyways, until next time, BYEEE!


	7. Agony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> FLASHBACK: Varian realizes how much Andrew has changed, and it's not in a good way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IMPORTANT:
> 
> Okay, so sorry for updating later than usual, it's been.....well, a kinda crazy week for me. It also didn't give me much time for writing and editing (which took FOREVER let me tell ya). A lot of pretty difficult things happened; one such thing being me admitting to my parents that I'm depressed, which I made the big mistake of hiding, and I won't let that happen again. (NOTE: IF YOU"RE DEPRESSED, HAVING SUICIDAL THOUGHTS, OR HURTING YOURSELF, PLEASE TELL SOMEONE. I KNOW HOW HARD IT IS, AND HAD TO EXPERIENCE HOW HARD IT IS WHEN YOU END UP GETTING CONFRONTED ABOUT IT).
> 
> But I did also finally come out to both them and my best friend that I'm bisexual, so that's in between a good thing and a hard thing....
> 
> ANYWAYS, this isn't my diary, so I won't flood y'all with my personal life. I just wanted to warn you guys that a hiatus MIGHT be coming at some point, but it depends on some certain things. I'm not saying it WILL happen, but if anything it'll get to where I don't post as much as usual (this is an example, but it could be longer stretches of time). So just be prepared for IF that happens. 
> 
> So passing that; this chapter was really hard to write, which is another reason it took me awhile. It is also one of the longest, if not the longest chapter I've written. I wasn't exactly planning for the whole chapter to be a flashback, and it was going to include Cassandra seeing Varian again, but it was too long, so I cut them into two chapters. I promise the next chapter will come out sooner, and be shorter. 
> 
> I have another announcement, but that'll be in the end notes.  
> Sorry for boring you guys! Anywho, enjoy!

**ONE YEAR AGO:**

_ "Wake up, Kid!" A voice called. Varian didn't recognize it, nor did he know where it was coming from. Everything around him was dark, and cold. His body ached, and his neck was stinging....why? He couldn't remember. _

_ The feeling of consciousness slowly came, and the pain only got worse the more awake he became. His neck felt like a dagger had slit through it, and the feeling of something wrapped around it became clearer. Wait, wasn't that what happened? Didn't someone try to cut his throat? That's the last thing he remembered, though he couldn't remember who had been the one doing it, or why. Why? Why? Why? _

_ He groaned, which caught the voice's attention. "Varian, wake up!" the voice called again.  _

_ This time, Varian caught a slight familiarity from the voice this time. It sounded rough, yet smooth. As the voice kept calling his name, he started recognizing it as a cruel, wicked toned voice. One that Varian automatically hated.  _

_ "Varian, dammit! Wake up!" _

_ Varian once again groaned, earning a sudden stab of pain on his cheek. He yelped, body lurching. This caused his neck to sting more, and he winced. At least, he though he did. Everything felt so blurry in this moment. Where was he? Why was his body aching? _

_ He wanted the pain to stop. He wanted it to be gone, out of his body. So he did what he could, and started to drift off again. Maybe sleep would make it go away. Yeah, yeah, that made sense. Sleep will heal. Sleep will help. Sleep will make everything better, right? _

_ Unfortunately, as he felt sleep trying to pull him away, he was pulled back from it's comfort by another stinging slap to the face. This finally got him to open his eyes, and a blinding light clouded his vision. He hissed, lifting his arms to block it. Or at least he tried to. The feel of cold metal on his wrists became comprehensible, and it caused his wrists the ache. They also kept his hands behind his back. _

_ That's when he also noticed the hard, cold stone beneath him, and realized he was sitting on some kind of floor. When he looked down, he saw that his ankles were bound together by cuffs like his wrists, which was also attached to a chain that was connected to the floor. This felt horribly familiar... _

_ "There you are, Buddy." the cruel voice suddenly spoke, making him jump. This made the voice chuckle. _

_ As Varian's fuzzy mind finally cleared, he realized that five figures stood in front of him. Five familiar figures. _

_ When his vision, mind, and hearing finally cleared up, he saw that it was the Saporians. Oh, yeah.....now he remembered. _

_ The memories flooded back from who knows how long ago. He had been working on a project, Andrew and his goons had escaped and tied him up, Rapunzel and Eugene came to rescue him, and he almost died. Oh, yeah, that's where the neck ache came from. Juniper had almost slit his throat, and Andrew used it to get Rapunzel and Eugene to give their weapons up. Wait, where were they? Where was HE? _

_ Andrew, he now realized was the voice, spoke again. "I was starting to think you died." he chuckled, crouching to Varian's slumped height on the floor. He smirked, making Varian narrow his eyes at the terrorist. "I'd probably be better off that way." he retorted, his voice still a bit slurred.  _

_ Andrew 'hmmed', reaching his hand out to pat the alchemist on the cheek. The same cheek he'd slapped earlier. Varian hissed, flinching back. This caused everyone behind him to laugh, though the fact that Juniper didn't laugh didn't go past Varian. He took note of it for later. _

_ "Where are my friends?" he asked, not hiding the venom in his tone. Andrew noticed this, and rolled his eyes. The Saporian stood up, brushing himself off.  _

_ "Detained." he said curtly, his smirk growing. It made Varian want to puke.  _

_ "What the hell do you mean, 'detained'?" Varian growled. Andrew's eyes widened, and he snickered.  _

_ "Wow, so you're using hot language now? My, you really have grown haven't you?"  _

_ Was he really trying to work Varian up? If so, it was a very bold move.  _

_ "I asked you a question, Andrew. What do you mean by detained?" Varian repeated, almost to the level of a shout. To his anger, Andrew didn't move. He just stared down at the nineteen-year old. Stared. That's all he did. Stared. Stared into his body, his mind, his soul....just stared. _

_ After almost five minutes of silent staring, Varian started to struggle not shrinking back. He couldn't show his enemy that he was afraid. He couldn't show him any fear, or anxiousness, or pain. He had to stay strong, for Rapunzel. _

_ Andrew seemed to be reading the alchemist's mind, because he furrowed his brows and said, "You think I can't break you, kid. Well, go ahead and keep telling yourself that." Andrew turned, gesturing for his gang to leave. They complied, and that's when Varian realized he was in his room....again.  _

_ He noticed that his room had been almost completely cleared of everything; his bed across from him being the only other thing in the room. On it sat a few bags, with who knows what inside them. The chain he was connected to had been drilled into the floor, his back to the wall, which caused his cuffed arms to ache all the more. This wasn't going to be fun. _

_Once the Saporians were out of the room, Andrew locked the door._ ** _Yeah, that isn't a good_** **_sign..._** _Varian thought with a hard swallow. The terrorist then moved back to the bed, searching through one of the bags._

_ "To answer your question, Var..." the man suddenly spoke, startling Varian slightly.  _

_ "Raps and her husband have been placed in the dungeons, as well as their little progeny." he explained.  _

_ Varian's eyes widened. "B-But the royal guard! They-"  _

_ Andrew cut him off. "They've realized which side of history was right. Some of them, anyway. The rest have been sent to prison with the others." he moved onto another bag as he talked, apparently looking for something specific. Varian listened with horror. _

_ How could the guard just turn? What did Andrew say to make them betray Corona?  _

_ Andrew answered that question without hesitation. "All it took was some persuading; make them realize that they're nothing more than piles of dirt here. I told them that Saporia isn't like that. WE don't use people and throw them away like garbage. WE don't make them do our dirty work. It was quite easy, really." he chuckled, reaching the last bag. "Unfortunately, some of their other friends didn't take the bate. But we'll learn to make do with what we have for now. When we've gotten everything under out control...THAT'S when our plan will really take course."  _

_ Andrew seemed to have finally found what he was looking for, pulling a dagger out of the bag. Varian held back a scoff, while also hiding the sliver of fear buried deep inside him from the sight of it. Knife torture was quite basic, in the alchemist's opinion. But he wouldn't say anything about it to Andrew. _

_ Andrew stood to admire the shiny object for a moment, spinning it in his hand. Varian tried to study it too, though it was too far for him to make out any details of it. He flinched slightly when Andrew turned to face him, purposely flashing the sharp blade in front of him.  _

_ "I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet."  _

_ Varian arched an eyebrow. "What?" he asked, not taking his gaze off the shiny blade. _

_ Andrew rolled his eyes and scoffed. "You're JUST like them. Nothing but a used chess piece in the queen's big game. She's USING you, Kid." _

_ Varian couldn't help but snort. He was being anything  _ **_but_ ** _ used. Rapunzel didn't use anyone. He didn't hesitate to voice this opinion, sitting up straight.  _

_ "No, she's not. She's cared about me more than you ever did! YOU used me, Andrew! YOU!" he suddenly found himself shouting, but he didn't care. They both knew he was right. Andrew had used Varian's broken and hurt soul for his own gain, and almost destroyed Corona because of it. _

_ He took advantage of a broken kid, while Rapunzel saved that kid. She did what he never could do. So like hell he would let this bastard do it again. _

_ Andrew didn't reply to this outburst. Instead, he walked over, the knife still spinning in his grip. When he was directly towering over the smaller figure, he crouched down again. Right as they met eyes, Varian spat. SPAT in the man's face. The man who had the upper hand. The man who said that traitors of his dying country died, and almost killed him. But that didn't cross his mind at all in that moment. Instead, it encouraged him when Andrew fell back slightly, wiping his face in disgust.  _

_ Varian smirked, spitting again. This time Andrew fell back, and growled angrily. Varian laughed. But his laughing was cut short when in seconds, Andrew got to his knees and grabbed the nineteen-year-old's throat with his free hand. Varian gasped, unable to bring his hand up because of his binds. _

_ With his other arm (the one with the dangerous looking dagger), Andrew wiped Varian's saliva off, looking at said alchemist with a deadly glare. "You'll regret that, Kid." he growled, bringing the knife up to hover over Varian's cheek. _

_ Varian didn't know if he was strong, or just plain stupid. But it leaned towards the latter when he spat out, "I'm...not a....kid any...more.....Andrew." _

_ Andrew's egocentric smirk returned when those words were choked out, and he released the neck he'd been squeezing, and removed the knife from Varian's cheek. Varian gasped, falling to his side on the floor. He fell into a fit of coughs, which wouldn't stop coming. It got to the point where tears came from the shaking alchemist's eyes, and at this point he thought he would die. At least that way, he'd be rid of this jackass. _

_ Andrew snickered at Varian's state, getting to his feet above him. "Trust me, Buddy. I'll break you, no matter how long it takes." he suddenly kicked at Varian's gut, making his coughs worse. He tried to clutch his stomach, but forgot about the cuffs. Andrew then bent down, grabbing Varian by the hair. _

_ Coughing almost completely forgotten, he cried out as the man lifted him off the ground by the scalp. Why did he grow it out again? _

_ Andrew lifted him to eye level, his eyes dark with hate and evil. Varian couldn't fully look at them, though, wincing almost every second. Andrew drew the knife up to the male's chin, the cold metal making Varian shiver. "And after I break you...I will kill you." his smirk turned into a mock smile, as he booped Varian's nose with the blade.  _

_ "That's a promise."  _

_ With that, he released Varian's hair, dropping him back down to the ground, where he let out a few more coughs. He lifted his head up to stare at the tall Saporian, scowling. "Guess I'm lucky you break your promises, then." he retorted, though he immediately regretted it. _

_ Andrew gave him his own scowl, but to the younger man's surprise, didn't do anything. Instead, he walked away, over to the window that sat over Varian's bed. Varian watched with both interest and concern, knowing something in Andrew had changed. Back in prison, he wasn't like this. Given he faked his sentiment, but that didn't mean SOME kindness came out of it. He'd never know when or where the true heart would make a short appearance, but he knew it did. This man, however....from what he could see, he had no heart. Not an ounce of even fake kindness or care-----completely dark and blank of anything colorful. Pure evil. _

_ When Varian finally found the air to talk again, he took the chance, though warily.  _

_ "What happened to you? This isn't you." he commented.  _

_ Andrew didn't look back at him as he talked, continuing to stare out to window. "Prison, happened to me, Kid. It changes you, morphs you into something else." he stopped to look down at his dagger. "You evolve into something newer...something more...fresh." he stopped looking down to look back to Varian, giving him his usual scowl.  _

_ "But you already know that, huh, Buddy?" _

_ Varian didn't say anything, confused as to where he was going with this. _

_ Andrew, seeing the confused look on his face, slowly started to approach him again, elaborating.  _

_ "When you first came into prison, you were a scared, broken disaster. You'd have nightmares every night, cry in your sleep, and even flinch when someone did something as small as breathed. You were a wreck." Andrew stopped next to Varian, leaning against the wall. "But during that time, you morphed into a much more sophisticated character. You felt guilty for what you did to the queen and her friends, but you also still wanted revenge against them. You grew stronger during those eight months in that cell." _

_ "But then they came back, and when that pathetic woman just batted her eyelashes at you, you decided: What the hell? And threw out that longing for revenge. Prison changed you into something better, but Rapunzel changed you into something weaker." he chuckled. "Oh, I should've known you'd turn on us once we reveled our true colors. Should've killed you when I had the chance."  _

_ Varian narrowed his eyes, barely understanding what the hell this guy was even talking about. Andrew was never really good at the whole 'bad guy monologue' thing. _

_ "Then do it; kill the traitor you swore to kill back on that airship." he challenged, sitting straight, and ignoring the pain in his gut, neck and head. Andrew raised a brow, and pushed himself off the wall.  _

_ "I could do that. But remember what I said before kid..." he suddenly threw the knife down, landing just centimeters away from Varian's knee. He gasped, falling back against the wall. Andrew crouched down (for the millionth time) and grabbed the hilt of the dagger. "I'm going to break you first."  _

_ With that, he pulled the dagger out of the ground, shoving into a sheath on his belt. Varian watched as he silently unlocked the door, opened it, and left without another word. Varian was left in silence. _

_ What was Andrew planning? How would he break him? If he really knew Varian, he'd know at this point, there was nothing that could break him. Zhan Tiri did that a long time ago. The snow storm, the amber, prison, Cass. Yeah, he'd been broken for years. _

_ He sighed, leaning back against the wall, his wrists now throbbing. He had a feeling it wouldn't be as easy to defeat the cultists as it was last time. Little did he know at this point, he was right. Oh, he was all too right. _

_ It didn't take too long for Andrew to come back; he'd only been gone for about fifteen or twenty minutes, give or take. When he did, however, he wasn't alone. The other Saporians came with him, all except for Kai. Varian found this strange, but kept quiet as they all filed into the room. When they were all inside, Andrew turned his attention back to the alchemist in front of him. _

_ "Sorry that took so long. Had to visit your friends for a bit." he smiled, earning a glare from Varian. "Don't worry, I didn't hurt them." he said, though it didn't sound very reassuring. Varian watched as the man pulled out that damned dagger again, studying it for a moment. Varian furrowed his brows in confusion when Andrew reached it out towards him, showing it off like a first place trophy.  _

_ "You know what this is, kid?" he asked, as if expecting Varian to answer. He decided that from now on, he wouldn't answer any of their questions, because he couldn't risk accidentally harming Corona or his friends. So he just stared Andrew in the eyes, face drained of any emotion so the Saporian couldn't read him. The man rolled his eyes, and moved it closer to Varian.  _

_ "This is the Dagger Of Agonia, which also translates to the word-" Varian unfortunately couldn't help but cut him off.  _

_ "Agony. Yeah, I know." he flaunted, not caring about the smirk that played on his lips.  _

_ Andrew scowled, stopping Maisie from trying to punch him. The two had a silent argument, before the older man finally backed down, staring bitterly at the alchemist on the floor. Andrew kneeled down next to Varian, hovering it in front of him to show off it's unique design, which Varian couldn't help but admire.  _

_ From afar, or under the eye like it'd been earlier, it looked like a normal blade; nothing special about it. But when it was up close, and directly in front of the eye, it was clear how different the dagger was from others. It's blade had a small design of what looked like red droplets going down both sides of the center of the sharp surface, leading to the hilt, which from another angle or distance appeared as black, but when studied was actually a deep red. It reminded Varian of a puddle of blood, which was probably what it was supposed to represent, given the blood droplet design. The hilt also had a unique design; dark green ropes of thorns embedded around both the bottom and top of the hilt, circling it like two hula-hoops.  _

_ But the most noticeable design on the dagger, was the skull in the front center of the hilt---it's mouth open, allowing each rope of thorns to either enter or exit it's mouth, though Varian wasn't exactly sure which. Overall, this object was clearly not to be underestimated, and was probably even enchanted with some deadly spell or curse. With the Saporian's background with magic, Varian wouldn't be surprised.  _

_ After a few moments, Andrew spoke again, keeping the dagger in front of Varian's face. _

_ "Centuries ago, a powerful witch from Sapora created this with dark magic." _

_ Yep, Varian wasn't surprised. _

_ "The magic could only be used by the most powerful witches, allowing them to lock and unlock the dagger's power, in case it were to fall into the wrong hands." Andrew continued, adjusting to be in front of Varian. "It was created for the sole purpose of torturing their enemies, which eventually became Corona, before...well, you know the story." Andrew huffed. Varian bit back a laugh. _

_ "Anyway, they used it to interrogate their prisoners, and cause them a long and painful death. You see, even the smallest cut can feel like a thousand crackling flames burning your body, and that was usually enough to get people to talk. But some people were much stronger than others, and Saporians had to resort to...OTHER tactics with the blade." Andrew brought the blade dangerously close to Varian's chin as he spoke, making Varian push back a strong panic rising inside him. After everything the young man had seen, he had no doubt Andrew was telling the truth about what this could do.  _

_ "They found that by stabbing victims, it could bring even the strongest of men to the brink, and not even allow a single drop of blood to leak. It wasn't designed to kill people immediately, you see, not even when the blade was plunged inside them. No matter what, it always causes an agonizingly---see what I did there---slow death. That's the part I love about this." he chuckled, twirling it around. Varian, even through his growing fear, found the courage to give the Saporian a smug look. Andrew arched a brow at this, then smirked.  _

_ "Think you can withstand this, huh?"  _

_ Varian's smug visage faltered. He shouldn't have done that, should he? _

_ He got his answer when Andrew suddenly swiped the blade across Varian's cheek. He cried out at the initial sting, head spinning to the side as he hissed. It took a moment for him to calm, surprised that nothing worse than the sting came after. Although it still hurt, it wasn't at all like Andrew had explained, making him feel even more smug. That's when he realized he didn't feel anything coming out of the cut. No liquid running down his cheek, or even a warm drizzle.  _

_ And that's when it hit; the pain, but it wasn't JUST pain. In fact, it was worse than just pain. It was pure torment. _

_ He couldn't hold back the loud, ear-piercing scream that escaped him, causing him to fall back on his other side, shaking uncontrollably---this caused the chain around his ankle to rattle. It was like fire burning his skin, and swords swiping at his insides relentlessly. It was like a burning building, but HE was the building. Even being whipped countless times was a prize compared to this.  _

_ His screams filled the whole room, passed it even. It went out into the lab, into the halls, the dungeons, and most likely even all the way to Old Corona. And for a moment, the alchemist thought he heard muffled yelling from outside the door. But the thought left when the endless torture continued. Tears poured uncontrollably from his eyes, so much so that a small puddle formed right under his head. He couldn't focus on the embarrassment of his enemies seeing him like this. He couldn't even focus on Andrew's cruel, and vicious laughs, which were a far cry from the ones he gave in prison. They held more evil, and death.  _

_ Varian's sobs nor screams stopped; continuing for almost half an hour. They were heard throughout the whole palace, even from the deepest parts of the dungeons, where three figures lied helplessly, breaking apart by the agony filled cries. _

_ After what felt like years, decades, centuries of endless torment, the burns and slices in the boy's face finally started to subside. Varian choked on his sobs on the floor, where the puddle of tears had practically become a pool of water. It was enough water to soak Varian's side, as well as his hair. The torturous stinging fell into soreness, and Varian's screams turned into silent sobs. His whole body shook; the only sign the poor guy was still alive. _

_ Andrew, finished with watching the show, stood up and stabbed the Dagger Of Agonia into the wall, before kneeling above Varian's head. Varian slammed his eyes shut. He'd never felt as much fear as he had now---not even when the psychotic demon used the decay incantation to almost kill the whole kingdom. He would've actually LOVED to be back there, rather than here now. He'd rather have fallen off the black rock tower, and not have had anyone catch him. He would've rather been thrown from the airship that night four years ago. _

_Andrew ruffled Varian's hair, making him flinch roughly. He could've sworn Andrew flinched himself at this, but the son of Zhan Tiri_ ** _(AN: YES, THAT IS NOW AN INSULT I MADE UP)_** _reached forward again, this time patting the nineteen-year-old's cheek. Varian quivered under the touch._

_ "Now that you know how it works, it's time to get to the point of this whole meeting." Andrew spoke, making Varian want to shrink into the puddle below him. _

_ Andrew moved Varian so he was sitting upright against the wall again, and the hair-striped man found it hard to stay that way, as he kept trying to fall back to the floor limply. But Andrew held him like that with his arms, the knife close enough to be in the man's reach, to Varian's fear. _

_ "As much as I've enjoyed our little talk so far, I need to get to the reason we're keeping you alive in the first place." he continued.  _

_ Varian couldn't find the strength to make a snarky comeback, even though he had a good one in mind. He honestly couldn't find the strength to do ANYTHING, let alone utter a single word. He just wanted to fall asleep. He just wanted to fade back into that oh so comforting darkness again, and never leave it. But that didn't seem to be an option at the moment, so he just held onto the little strength he did have, and listened painfully. _

_ Andrew seemed content with him not saying anything, so he continued.  _

_ "I need you to do something for us, Buddy. It'll be just like old times." he spoke as if the two were life-long friends, which they clearly weren't. It made Varian hate the man even more than he already did, if that was even possible after what he just did to him. _

_ Andrew pointed his index finger at Varian, hovering just over his chest. "I need YOU, to make some things for my friends and I. Think you can do that, Buddy?" he slapped a hand on Varian's back, making him double over and groan. Andrew fake hissed. "Whoops, sorry about that, Kid." he chuckled. Oh, how Varian longed for the strength to punch this bastard all the way to the sun. _

_ With the small strength he had, Varian shook his head. No matter what, he would NEVER help these cultists with their plans. He wouldn't make the same mistake he did years before. He wouldn't yield.  _

_ Andrew seemed to have expected this, because the head shake didn't faze him. Instead, he gestured for Clementine to open the door. She did, going out for a moment, before coming back inside. She was followed by Kai, who Varian almost forgot had been missing from this whole thing. The alchemist's face suddenly paled, however, when he saw him holding a very familiar man in front of him. A man that matched his captor's size. _

_ "N-No..." Varian found the strength to mutter, but not to sit straighter. _

_ Quirin was forced to his knees in front of Varian; his hands were bound by cuffs, similarly to Varian, as well as his ankles. Varian winced at the gag tied tight over the large man's mouth, realizing that HE had been the muffled yells he'd heard earlier.  _

_ How could the Saporians have caught him? His father was a retired WARRIOR for sun's sake; he could've overpowered them easily. Then again, the man was older, and the grey hairs proved it. The most probable explanation was that he was randomly jumped by the Saporians, though he didn't know when that would've taken place. Either way, it made the most sense. Varian was honestly just glad he didn't appear injured in any way. _

_ Andrew stood up again, and walked over to Quirin. Varian tried to stand in protest, but failed to even lean forward an inch. He hissed in pain, falling back against the wall. His father tried to struggle, but was held down by Kai's hands pressed down on his shoulders.  _

_ As Andrew walked away, he pulled the dagger out of the wall, causing every fiber in Varian to freeze up. The thought of him using that dagger on himself again, he hated. But the thought that he would use it on his only parent, he absolutely despised. He tried to move again, and this time,  _ _ found his adrenaline assisting him. He managed to get to a proposal-type position, breathing heavily.  _

_ "A-Andrew..." he rasped out. "P-Please..." _

_ Andrew smiked, standing next to Quirin, who shot him a you-hurt-my-child-so-I-will-torture-and-kill-you glare. The other man didn't seem to notice this. Instead, he played with the eerie blade in his hands, keeping his eyes on Varian. _

_ "Whatever you think I'm going to do, Varian, it's only unless you do what I want." the terrorist said, as if it justified anything. Varian felt a tear trickle down his face, even after he'd finally stopped his heavier sobs. He wouldn't let this horrible psychopath hurt the one person he cared the most for. The person he'd do ANYTHING for.  _

_ Andrew then knelt down on one knee, copying Varian, and slowly brought the cursed object up to his dad's cheek. Varian felt his whole body start to heat up. _

_ "What would you think about matching scars, Buddy?" Andrew chuckled. Varian now started to boil softly. _

_ Andrew noticed the alchemist's growing anger, and flashed another ugly-as-the-devil smirk. The blade was barely an inch away from skin. Varian knew his father was strong enough; and he'd most likely get through the smaller cut much easier than Varian had. But he knew Andrew would do much more to him than just a small cut to the cheek. He'd do SO much worse. _

_ The alchemist's eyes slammed shut as the sharp blade came in contact with the skin, and heard a soft cut through it. His dad grunted. When he opened his eyes again, there was a cut where Andrew had marked it, but no blood spilled from it. Varian started to boil more. _

_ After a moment of silence, his father finally winced visibly, and groaned under the cloth in his mouth. The groans turned a little heavier, and some moans also came with it. But to the smaller male's relief, his father didn't seem to feel as much pain as he had.  _

_ After twenty minutes, the grunts and moans stopped, leaving Quirin breathing a lot heavier than before. Varian's boiling grew to a medium bubbling. _

_ Andrew raised a brow, before moving the shiny blade down to Quirin's chest, making Varian's eyes widen in horror. His bubbles started to pop. _

_ "Well, Var, are you gonna listen to my proposal?" he smirked wider. Varian didn't reply; he didn't really know if he could with what was happening. All he could focus on was his father, who stared back at him with sore eyes. With PAINED eyes. Varian's boils and bubbles started growing out of control inside him. _

_ After no response, Andrew shrugged, moving his hand forward, about to thrust the dagger into Varian's father's chest. As he started to bring it back again, Varian finally boiled over. _

_ "OKAY, STOP! JUST-JUST STOP! PLEASE!" He screamed, lunging forward. The chain around his ankle caught him, and threw him harshly him to the ground. Tears fell from the boy's face, splashing quietly on the already wet floor.  _

_ The dagger's point stopped just a centimetre away from Quirin's chest. "Good choice."  _

_ He pulled the knife away from Varian's father, and sheathed it back in his belt. Varian was shaking; both out of weakness and shock. Shock that he almost lost his father AGAIN. He was almost tortured to death because of HIM. Because of his disappointing son. Varian didn't know what he'd even think or do if he lost him again....and this time it'd be  _ **_forever_ ** _.  _

_ The alchemist pushed himself onto his side, since he was unable to use his hands to get up. Andrew watched in short amusement, not moving from his spot next to Quirin, who was still trying to frantically break away his binds. But the farmer's efforts lead to no avail, and he was forced to stare at his bad-conditioned son helplessly. "Now you'll listen, won't you?" Andrew spoke again.  _

_ Varian wordlessly answered, nodding his head against the floor. Andrew smirked, his hand dangerously playing with the hilt of his cursed weapon in his belt. He nodded to Juniper, who walked up to the crumpled nineteen-year old man on the floor, and roughly pulling him back into the uncomfortable position against the wall. His face was tear stained, and covered with floor grime. His whole body quivered visibly against the female Saporian's grip, which was the only thing supporting him from falling back down.  _

_ After a few agonizingly long moments, Andrew finally, to Varian's relief, stood up. He walked away from Quirin's side, and place the dagger and sheath back inside the bag it had come out of, before coming to crouch down once more in front of the pained alchemist. He reached forward and cupped his cheek in mock sympathy, making Varian's mind flash back to all of those nights in the prison cell, when Varian would randomly break down, and Andrew would cuddle and comfort him. But all those moments had been lies, Varian knew. But he also knew that some of them weren't....but at this point, he couldn't pin point which moments those were. He couldn't even find himself to care about them anymore.  _

_ Andrew pulled his hand away, and his fake sad smile turned into a vicious grin once more. _

_ "As long as you do what I say, nobody-" he gestured to Varian's father with his thumb, "-gets hurt. But if you do anything against me, or try to betray Saporia again..." the Saporian suddenly gripped onto Varian's hair tightly again, making Varian cry out, his head still throbbing from when Andrew had done it earlier. Said man leaned in, far too close for Varian's liking, so that their noses were mere inches away from each other. "Well, we'll start with your old man over there." he finished. _

_ He painfully threw Varian's head against the wall behind him, making Varian gasp at the added stinging to his temple. Black dots immediately started popping up in his vision, and he distantly felt himself slide once more to the ground. His dad came into what was left of his disappearing vision; and he could've sworn he saw something shiny coming down the older man's cheeks. He couldn't confirm, however, as Andrew came back into his almost evaporated sight. _

_ "Well, do we have a deal?" he heard the muffled voice say, though it sounded somewhat rehtorical.  _

_ If it was, Varian didn't get to find out, as the dots finally pulled him back into his "peaceful" slumber. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So my last announcement is that there will be a lot more flashbacks than I originally planned. I got this idea when I was writing this chapter, and realized that it was too long (for me) to include what I planned. 
> 
> Details of this: There will be flashbacks in almost every chapter to help get the just of what happened, and a few full-chaptered flashbacks every little while. I also based this idea off of 'Arrow' and 'Once Upon A Time,' which both include flashback storylines.
> 
> If you're not into that stuff, you don't have to stay and read; I just think it would make things make a hell of a lot more sense. It's also gonna be pretty difficult to write, so I'm sorry if chapters take forever to upload.   
> That's also why I've decided to make this a series, and this will be the only book (is that what these are called?" in it that includes these major flashback things. 
> 
> Anyways, sorry for the long af notes. I just needed to make sure you guys understand some things, and if you don't, feel free to comment any questions you have. Enjoy the rest of your day/night!


	8. NEWS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Don't get excited guys, it's just some news :/

Sooooooooooooooooo

Okay, so I really apologize for the slow update of this story, and feel really guilty for not updating.

As I did say before, I hit a huge depression wave, and I'm failing all of my classes because of it. I've been trying to work on the next chapter, just so I don't leave you guys hanging on Varian's fate. But I live a life like you guys, and finding time for it has been difficult (especially since I've started another, much better written multi-chapter fic). 

So I've made a decision NOT to cancel the story, but just put it on hiatus for the time being. This won't mean I'll stop writing anything else, I just realized that this was a lot harder to do than I planned, and I actually might rewrite the whole thing at some point. It's just a really messy plot and whatever, and when I realized I can actually write a lot better than I realized, I thought I should give this plot some justice. 

If I do end up rewriting it, it'll come out sometime next month or February. I'll leave this up until then, just so nobody tries to copy the idea or whatever. If you guys are somehow liking the writing of this, let me know and I won't cancel and rewrite it later. 

I'll upload one last chapter sometime next week, or right before Christmas so I don't leave y'all hanging with Varian and whatever.

Thank you guys so much, I'm sorry that I can't really control my feelings and if I get depression and whatever. I wish I could change that, but I can't :(

To make up for this, again I'm going to give one last chapter before the hiatus/rewrite, and I'll also continue to write other stories, because this is basically therapy for me. I just think I need to take on easier projects, and this one was a bit too big for my beginner ass lol. 

One last thanks to you guys who've read this, I really appreciate the thoughtful comments! You guys have no idea how good it feels to have people appreciate and enjoy my ideas and writing, and it's something I want to be if I ever become an author. I hope that if any of you guys are going through depression, or any mental health issue, you understand that there is more to life than your failures and stresses. You don't have to go through anything alone, and hiding your feelings doesn't help anything.

Thanks for the support, I'll see y'all in my next post <3

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so I know I'm not really the best writer. But I do hope to improve as I move the story, so don't be afraid to give me advice and let me know about some mistakes. It'd be really helpful!


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